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Solana News: Ex-Binance and Polygon Execs Join the Solana Foundation

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In Solana news, the Solana Foundation recently announced the hiring of Rachel Conlan, former Chief Marketing Officer at Binance, as Chief Strategy Officer, and Jamal Raees, a veteran from Polygon Labs, as General Manager of Payments. The foundation made this announcement on September 24, 2026.

The foundation believes that these new hires will help secure partnerships with banks, asset managers, and payment companies as the financial sector increasingly shifts towards blockchain technology.

Solana currently leads all blockchains in tokenized stock trading, with more tokenized stocks than any other platform. As of September 27, SOL trades at around $123, up +2.8% for the day following a +15% weekly surge.

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Despite $5 trillion in stablecoin volume, Solana’s transaction fees are extremely low, at just 0.000005 SOL per transaction, which offers minimal direct returns for SOL holders. Given these new hires, will they generate renewed interest and demand for SOL among investors?

Solana (SOL)
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Solana News: The Foundation Hires ex-Binance and Polygon Execs as Part of a Hierarchy Shakeup

Rachel Conlan brings extensive experience to her role at Solana, having spent three years as the global chief marketing officer at Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

Her previous positions also include senior roles at OKX, CAA Sports, and Havas. At Solana, she will focus on developing institutional partnerships, driving ecosystem growth, and leading sales initiatives to attract companies to the Solana network.

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Jamal Raees has also joined Solana from Polygon Labs and has a strong background in payment systems and stablecoins, gained through his work at Bridge (now part of Stripe) and Wyre.

In his role, he will build relationships with payment companies and businesses looking to move funds across the Solana platform.

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Solana Price Analysis: What Will the New Hires Mean for SOL?

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In Solana price news, SOL is trading around $124, according to the latest CoinGecko data, up roughly +2.7% over the past 24 hours and 14.5% over the last seven days. Its market capitalization is about $73Bn, making it one of the largest cryptocurrencies by value.

The recent rebound has strengthened SOL’s short-term technical picture, with the token recovering from below $100 earlier this month. CoinGecko’s historical data shows SOL closing at $122.08 on September 25, highlighting the strength of the latest move.

At current levels, $120 is an important psychological support zone, while a sustained move above $125 could put $130 into focus. Beyond that, $140 could become the next significant resistance area.

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With SOL still approximately -58% below its $293.31 all-time high, the token has substantial ground to recover if broader market momentum remains bullish.

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The post Solana News: Ex-Binance and Polygon Execs Join the Solana Foundation appeared first on Cryptonews.




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XRP ETFs Attract $75M in a Week as SOL Funds Hit New 2026 High

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The spot exchange-traded funds tracking the performance of Ripple’s cross-border token started the week quietly but built on by the end of it, reaching a new cumulative all-time high.

At the same time, the products tracking Solana’s SOL are on a green-only streak since September 11, and the inflows peaked on Friday with more than $86 million.

XRP ETFs Had a Big Week

The previous business week was a little shaky for the XRP ETFs, as they attracted a more modest $9.56 million, less than half of the $19 million seen in the first few weeks of September. Nevertheless, the financial vehicles still extended their green streak to ten consecutive weeks.

After marking more net outflows last Thursday and Friday, investors stood on the sidelines on September 21 as the new week began, with SoSoData showing no reportable inflows on Monday. However, the trend changed on Tuesday and remained on a high note until Friday.

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Investors poured in $20.02 million on September 22, followed by $18.04 million on September 23, another $14.89 million on Thursday, and $22.65 million on Friday. This meant that the five-day trading period ended well in the green, with net inflows of $75.89 million – the best weekly performance in a month.

The cumulative net inflows skyrocketed to another all-time high of $1.79 billion. Bitwise’s XRP fund remains the undisputed leader with cumulative net inflows of $677 million, followed by Franklin’s XRPZ at $501 million and Canary Capital’s XRPC at $489.37 million.

Spot XRP ETF Inflows. Source: SoSoValue
Spot XRP ETF Inflows. Source: SoSoValue

SOL ETFs Had an Even Bigger Week

While the performance of the funds tracking XRP was quite impressive, the SOL counterparts did even better. Monday began with a bang, as the ETFs attracted $26.10 million. Another $28.87 million followed on Tuesday, $13.77 million on Wednesday, and $32.81 million on Thursday, before investors went all in on Friday with a massive inflow day of $86.67 million.

This became the single-best daily inflow since the funds’ inception nearly a year ago. Moreover, the weekly inflows hit a 2026 high with $188.22 million poured in, which was also the second-best ever, only trailing the launch week in October with $199.21 million.

The total net inflows rocketed to a new all-time high of their own at $1.61 billion. Bitwise’s SOL ETF is once again the undisputed leader, with cumulative net inflows of $1.22 billion. Fidelity’s FSOL is far behind at $231.35 million, followed by Grayscale’s GSOL with $164.15 million.

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Spot Solana (SOL) ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue
Spot Solana (SOL) ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue

The post XRP ETFs Attract $75M in a Week as SOL Funds Hit New 2026 High appeared first on CryptoPotato.



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Did MicroStrategy Buy More Bitcoin? Michael Saylor Drops Another Signal

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Michael Saylor Bitcoin Buy Signal. Source: Saylor on X

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), posted a new Bitcoin (BTC) chart on Sunday with the caption “Even more orange.” Posts like this one have often come a day before the company reports new Bitcoin purchases.

Strategy is the largest public company holding Bitcoin. It reports its purchases in filings with US regulators, usually on Mondays.

Last Sunday’s Orange Post Came a Day Before a 950 BTC Buy

Orange is Bitcoin’s brand color. Each orange dot on Saylor’s chart marks a purchase, and bigger dots mean bigger buys.

Michael Saylor Bitcoin Buy Signal. Source: Saylor on X
Michael Saylor Bitcoin Buy Signal. Source: Saylor on X

“Even more orange,” Saylor indicated.

Last Sunday, he posted a similar chart captioned “A little more orange.” That evening, BeInCrypto reported Saylor’s buying hint and said Monday’s update would settle it.

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It did. The next day, MicroStrategy disclosed a 950 BTC purchase worth about $76 million, or $79,670 per coin, according to its ledger. That brought its holdings to 846,000 BTC.

Notably, however, the signal does not always lead to a buy, though. The week before, Strategy’s filing showed no Bitcoin bought or sold.

Why MicroStrategy’s Next Bitcoin Move Matters

Strategy has not only been buying this year. Its ledger lists four sales between June 30 and August 10, totaling 6,916 BTC.

Last week it also spent $174 million buying back STRC, a preferred share that pays holders a monthly dividend. That was more than twice what it spent on Bitcoin.

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Right now, Bitcoin trades near $84,974, up 1% over 24 hours. That puts the price about 13% above Strategy’s average cost of roughly $75,416 per coin. Earlier this month, the company sat 2% above cost.

Monday’s filing will show whether last week’s 950 coins restarted steady buying or set a slower pace.

The post Did MicroStrategy Buy More Bitcoin? Michael Saylor Drops Another Signal appeared first on BeInCrypto.



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Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Tests Critical Resistance as Bullish Structure Holds

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XRP remains in a constructive short-term structure after rebounding sharply from its recent correction. However, the asset is now approaching the same major overhead supply region that has repeatedly capped upside momentum, making the next move around $1.60 particularly important.

Ripple Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, XRP continues to trade well above both displayed moving averages following August’s explosive breakout. More recently, the price found strong support around the $1.25-$1.32 demand zone, which also coincides with the higher moving average, before launching another impulsive recovery.

That rebound has carried the asset back toward the major $1.60-$1.70 supply zone. The latest candles show the price consolidating around $1.54 after several attempts toward $1.60-$1.65 were rejected, suggesting that sellers remain active in this region.

Nevertheless, the broader structure is still constructive as long as XRP maintains its recent higher lows. A decisive daily close above the $1.60-$1.70 resistance zone would represent a significant bullish development and could clear the path toward higher levels.

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On the downside, the $1.25-$1.32 zone remains the key daily support. Losing this region would substantially weaken the current bullish structure and could expose the much deeper support area around $0.93-$0.97.

XRP/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour timeframe shows a clearer sequence of higher lows developing from the September low around $1.25. An ascending trendline has supported the recovery and is now converging with price around the $1.51-$1.53 region.

XRP recently rallied toward $1.60 but was rejected before gradually pulling back into this rising support. The latest candles indicate an attempt to bounce from the trendline, with the price recovering toward $1.54. As long as this structure remains intact, another push toward the $1.60-$1.70 supply zone appears possible.

The immediate challenge is reclaiming the recent $1.60-$1.62 highs. A breakout above this area would put the upper portion of the $1.60-$1.70 resistance zone back in focus and could support continuation of the broader rally.

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Conversely, a confirmed breakdown below the ascending trendline would weaken the short-term setup. In that case, the $1.42-$1.45 demand zone would likely become the next important support area. A failure there could expose the larger $1.22-$1.28 zone, where the latest recovery originally began.

The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Tests Critical Resistance as Bullish Structure Holds appeared first on CryptoPotato.



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Claude AI Predicts XRP Could Hit $10 in 2026: How Does it Get There

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Claude AI Predicts XRP Could Hit $10 in 2026: How Does it Get There

In ideal bull-market conditions, Anthropic’s Claude AI predicts Ripple (XRP) could hit $10, assuming sustained liquidity, expanding ETF inflows, regulatory progress, and growing institutional use of the XRP Ledger.

Claude’s bull-case target for XRP sits between $5.50 and $8.50, with a target of $6.50–$7.50, assuming a strong crypto bull market through late 2026.

As of September 25, 2026, XRP trades near $1.55–$1.62, benefiting from broader market strength following Bitcoin’s breakout. Optimistic forecasts, such as Standard Chartered’s target of ~$7, hinge on sustained liquidity, ETF inflows, regulatory progress, and increased institutional use of the XRP Ledger.

SOURCE: Claude.ai

The current market signals the early stages of a sustained bull run, driven by improved macro conditions and capital rotation into large-cap altcoins.

Historical trends suggest XRP could rise significantly alongside Bitcoin, with potential moves up to the mid-to-high single digits in a bullish environment. However, this remains speculative and dependent on market conditions.

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Technical Analysis Supporting the Claude Prediction

On the higher timeframes, XRP has staged a strong multi-week rebound from mid-September lows near $1.25–$1.30, reclaiming key moving averages and pushing through successive resistance levels into the $1.55–$1.62 zone.

A sustained break and weekly close above $1.65–$1.70 (with volume confirmation) would further confirm the intermediate bullish structure, opening the path toward the prior cycle high near $3.65.

In a full bull-market regime led by Bitcoin’s recovery, reclaiming that prior high often acts as a powerful psychological and technical catalyst for further extension.

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Fibonacci projections and measured moves from the multi-year base and recent recovery low project into the $5.50–$8.50 zone on continued momentum.

RSI has improved from oversold levels into constructive territory, price is holding firmly above clustered support from the 50-/100-/200-day averages, and the broader risk-on shift supports trend continuation.

Key supports to defend on any retests include the $1.45–$1.50 zone and the broader $1.30–$1.40 area; a decisive break below those would weaken the near-term recovery thesis.

Overall, the chart setup favors a multi-leg advance with strong upside potential as risk appetite builds, consistent with XRP’s historical pattern of sharp rallies once key resistances clear in bull-market conditions.

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LiquidChain Targets Early Mover Upside as Claude AI Predicts $10 XRP

Anyone holding XRP from the sub-$1 range is in a comfortable spot. But buying in now, chasing a token already up +19% over seven days and pressing into resistance at $1.50, is a different risk calculus entirely; the easy money on this leg has largely been made.

That’s pushing some traders toward earlier-stage plays with more room to run, and cross-chain infrastructure is one of the more active corners of that search right now.

LiquidChain (LIQUID) is building a Layer 3 execution environment designed to fuse Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single unified layer, a “deploy-once, access-all” model for developers tired of fragmenting liquidity across chains.

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The presale is priced at $0.014958 per token, with over $971,000 raised to date. Core features include single-step execution and verifiable settlement, designed to remove bridging friction between ecosystems.

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The post Claude AI Predicts XRP Could Hit $10 in 2026: How Does it Get There appeared first on Cryptonews.




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Bitcoin ETF Comeback: $2.4B Week Flips Year-to-Date Flows Positive

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It was hard to imagine after June ended and the massive outflows recorded within the first six months of the year, but the spot BTC ETFs have managed to turn the tables and are actually well in the green now YTD.

The spot Ethereum ETFs have erased last week’s losses, and the cumulative net inflows are up to nearly $14 billion again.

BTC ETFs Back in Green YTD

As reported earlier this week, the Monday numbers set a multi-month record in terms of daily inflows as investors inserted almost $1 billion within a single trading session. Although the inflows declined by the end of the week, they were still in the green. $714.75 million entered the funds on Tuesday, another $346.98 million on Wednesday, $190.65 million on Thursday, and $134.47 million on Friday.

Consequently, this pivotal week ended with $2.39 billion in net inflows for the spot Bitcoin ETFs, pushing the cumulative total net inflows to $57.55 billion. As mentioned above, the YTD numbers have turned green, which was nearly impossible after June. At the time, investors pulled out a record $4.51 billion from the funds, which followed a painful May with $2.43 billion in net outflows. YTD, the funds were nearly $5.5 billion in the red.

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However, the narrative shifted in July with a modest $172 million in net inflows, but it skyrocketed in August and September. The ETFs attracted $3.52 billion in August and are up by $2.7 billion so far in September. As such, the 2026 numbers are at $925 million in the green.

At the same time, though, the underlying asset remains 40% away from its all-time high. Crypto Rover believes this difference won’t last long, as “institutional money is accumulating like never before and has shortened the bear market dramatically.”

ETH ETFs in Green Too

The exchange-traded funds tracking the largest altcoin also enjoyed a strong start to the business week, gaining almost $270 million on Monday. They also saw green-only in the following four trading days and ended with $689.88 million in net inflows. Thus, they offset all the losses from the previous business week by a large margin and hit a new multi-month high in terms of cumulative net inflows of $13.94 billion.

Meanwhile, the underlying asset touched $2,800 during the week but was stopped there and now trades at around $100 lower.

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Spot Ethereum ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue
Spot Ethereum ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue

The post Bitcoin ETF Comeback: $2.4B Week Flips Year-to-Date Flows Positive appeared first on CryptoPotato.




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Quant Crypto Blasts 3x in a Week Following Huge US Bank Deal

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Quant crypto is quickly becoming the hottest asset on the market due to its huge +200% move in the past week, with momentum still going

Quant crypto has exploded roughly +178% over the last seven days, including an extraordinary +72% daily surge. Quant is quickly becoming the most talked-about cryptocurrency, as its price action is tied to a major deal with US banks.

At press time, Quant is trading around $178.46, though the price is moving extremely quickly amid unusually intense volatility.

Quant crypto is quickly becoming the hottest asset on the market due to its huge +200% move in the past week, with momentum still going

(SOURCE: TradingView / Quant Crypto)

Unlike many sudden surges in the crypto market, this excitement is fueled by a major fundamental development. Quant has secured a significant role in The Clearing House’s upcoming on-chain payments infrastructure in the United States.

This builds on its previous work with major UK banks. However, the chart shows valid reasons for caution after the price rose rapidly from around $65 to nearly $200.

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What is the Major U.S. Banking Deal that Has Caused the +200% Quant Price Surge?

The biggest catalyst for this development occurred when The Clearing House announced on September 24 that it had chosen Quant to power its On-Chain Money Initiative. Quant will provide the network’s interoperability, orchestration, and transaction management layer.

This infrastructure is designed to enable financial institutions to clear and settle tokenized deposits while integrating with existing payment systems, including RTP and CHIPS. The network is expected to be available to participating institutions during the first half of 2027.

The Clearing House’s scale helps explain why crypto traders reacted so strongly. Its U.S. payment networks clear and settle over $2 trillion every day. In 2025 alone, CHIPS averaged approximately $2.014 trillion in daily payment value.

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Quant isn’t directly processing $2 trillion worth of transactions. That figure refers to the scale of The Clearing House’s existing payment networks.

Quant has been selected to provide the technology for the new On-Chain Money Initiative, which is scheduled to launch next year. Nevertheless, this partnership places Quant’s technology in close proximity to major U.S. banking infrastructure.

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The U.S. Deal Follows Quant’s Work With Major UK Banks

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UK Finance has selected Quant, along with several banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander, to provide infrastructure for the UK’s tokenized sterling deposits project.

This initiative involves live transactions of tokenized commercial bank deposits and ensures interoperability between bank ledgers and existing payment systems.

Now, Quant (QNT) is shifting its focus from major banking projects in the UK to a potentially significant role in U.S. tokenized deposits. The Clearing House has highlighted Quant’s experience delivering on-chain capabilities in regulated environments.

For traders, this progression presents a compelling narrative: UK banking infrastructure is paving the way for U.S. banking infrastructure, especially as tokenization and programmable money become increasingly important trends.

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However, investors should be aware that adopting Quant’s technology does not necessarily translate into a direct increase in demand for the QNT token.

While the banking partnership is undoubtedly significant for Quant and its technology, the overall impact on QNT’s token economics remains a distinct consideration.

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Quant Crypto Price Goes Parabolic: What Comes Next?

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Throughout most of the displayed period, QNT traded within a relatively limited range. The price lingered between approximately $60 and $80 for several months, with the 200-day moving average positioned around $69.40.

QNT first broke through the $70-$80 range before rapidly climbing past $100. Following that, the price surge became nearly vertical, with QNT soaring through $120, $150, and $170, eventually reaching a high around $194.

Currently, at approximately $178, QNT is significantly above its 200-day moving average. While this doesn’t necessarily mean the rally will end immediately, prices can stay elevated longer than traders expect when a strong narrative meets speculative demand.

However, the gap between QNT’s current price and its underlying technical structure has reached an extreme level. There is very little recent price action to reference between roughly $100 and the current price, as QNT moved through that range too quickly.

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This lack of established price structure can pose challenges during a reversal, as there are fewer areas where buyers previously accumulated positions.

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The post Quant Crypto Blasts 3x in a Week Following Huge US Bank Deal appeared first on Cryptonews.




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Wall Street Giant Warns AI Agents Could Trigger a New Kind of Bank Run

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Apollo chart comparing fintech deposit yields with FDIC national averages, AI agents bank account

AI agents such as Meta’s Muse could soon pull cash out of bank accounts paying 0.1% and into accounts paying up to 5%, Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk warned on Sunday.

AI agents are assistants that can act for a user, not just answer questions. Sløk says that at scale, the shift could strip banks of the cheap deposits they lend out.

How Much a 0.1% Bank Account Costs You

On a $10,000 balance, a 0.1% checking account earns about $10 a year. At 5%, the same money earns about $500.

Sløk’s note lists 11 fintech and online accounts paying between 3.3% and 5%. Adelfi tops the chart at 5%, followed by SoFi at 4.5%. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) national averages it cites are 0.4% for savings and 0.1% for checking.

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Apollo chart comparing fintech deposit yields with FDIC national averages, AI agents bank account
Apollo chart comparing fintech deposit yields with FDIC national averages, AI agents bank account. Source: Apollo

Banks pay savers little and lend the money out at higher rates. That difference is a core source of their profit.

“If every household used AI agents to optimize the return on their cash balances, banks could lose a large share of the cheap deposits they rely on to make loans, which would be a problem for the entire financial system,” read an excerpt in the report.

Can Muse Move Your Money Yet?

Meta launched Muse on September 8. Plaid, the data firm that connects it to more than 12,000 US financial institutions and apps, says users can see balances, transactions, investments, and mortgage details through the agent.

Plaid’s announcement does not say Muse can move money between accounts. Sløk describes the sweep as something that “could soon” happen, and his warning rests on every household using such agents.

Interest in the agent is climbing. On Thursday, JPMorgan raised its Meta target and said Muse could become the most widely used consumer AI app since ChatGPT.

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Market Watchers Say Savers Are Already Moving Cash

Mike Zaccardi, a chartered financial analyst, says he already keeps his own cash in BOXX, an exchange-traded fund that aims to earn returns close to short-term Treasury bills.

“Is an Agentic Bank Run Coming? AI assistants are about to auto-sweep cash from 0.1% checking accounts into 5% yields. If everyone adopts them, banks lose their cheap deposit base… risking a systemic crunch,” wrote Zaccardi.

Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, said AI and crypto are both coming for the traditional banking model. He urged politicians to embrace the change rather than fight it.

Washington is already fighting over who gets to pay savers. Stablecoin yield is one of the issues in the push to revive the Clarity Act crypto bill, which failed a Senate procedural vote on September 15.

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Sløk’s note does not estimate how much cash could move, or how fast.

The post Wall Street Giant Warns AI Agents Could Trigger a New Kind of Bank Run appeared first on BeInCrypto.




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THORChain decentralization challenged over DPRK flows

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THORChain approves ADR028 as RUNE holders await network restart

GoPlus Security has challenged THORChain’s decentralization claims, arguing that its validator-controlled vaults and emergency mechanisms give node operators powers that differ from Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Summary

  • GoPlus argues THORChain validators can halt signing, challenging comparisons with Bitcoin and Ethereum decentralization models.
  • THORChain documentation allows emergency pauses, chain-specific signing halts and Mimir votes when funds face risks.
  • FBI attributed the 2025 Bybit theft to North Korea and urged services to block transactions.
  • THORChain halted its network after a May exploit drained approximately $10.7 million from one vault.
  • GoPlus claims Bitget-linked funds have moved through THORChain while North Korean attribution remains unconfirmed publicly.

GoPlus Security said on Sept. 27 that THORChain should not compare its cross-chain architecture directly with decentralized Layer 1 networks when explaining why stolen funds cannot be blocked. The firm pointed to THORChain’s threshold-signature vaults, active validator set and emergency governance controls.

Its criticism follows renewed scrutiny over stolen funds routed through THORChain after the Bitget breach. GoPlus claims around 101.5 BTC linked to the incident had already exited through the protocol, while another 27.63 million XRP was being routed toward Bitcoin.

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Bitget has not publicly confirmed that North Korean actors carried out its September attack. The exchange said investigators had seen preliminary IP and VPN similarities associated with previous North Korean-linked activity, but attribution remained unconfirmed, as crypto.news reported after the Bitget breach.

THORChain validators can halt signing during emergencies

GoPlus based part of its argument on controls documented by THORChain itself. THORChain’s emergency procedures state that a node operator can issue a make pause command when funds face a critical threat. One pause lasts 720 blocks, or roughly one hour, while additional nodes can extend the halt.

Node operators can then vote on more targeted measures through Mimir, the protocol’s on-chain parameter system. THORChain documentation lists trading halts, chain-specific stops and signing controls among the available emergency actions.

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GoPlus argued that these controls distinguish THORChain from Bitcoin or Ethereum base-layer consensus. THORChain uses threshold signatures to authorize outbound transactions from shared vaults, meaning participating nodes collectively manage the signing process for cross-chain swaps.

THORChain describes the same mechanism as a security design intended to distribute control among independent node operators rather than place vault keys with one entity.

The protocol’s own May exploit report says operational Mimir parameters can activate after three node votes. Four votes can overturn the decision, while another five can reinstate it. Economic parameters require a two-thirds supermajority.

GoPlus cited those features when arguing that THORChain has mechanisms capable of stopping specific flows when operators believe funds are at risk.

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May exploit showed THORChain can coordinate a halt

THORChain used those controls during its own security incident on May 15.

A malicious validator exploited weaknesses in the protocol’s GG20 Threshold Signature Scheme and reconstructed the private key for one Asgard vault. Approximately $10.7 million was drained before the network fully stopped.

Automatic solvency monitoring first detected irregular vault balances and halted signing and trading on several chains. Node operators then coordinated through Discord and used manual pauses and Mimir votes to stop trading, signing, chain observation and validator churning.

THORChain’s official exploit report says roughly 18 to 20 nodes stacked pause commands during the response. A complete controlled halt was reached within around two hours after community members raised the alarm.

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The network remained offline for roughly five weeks. Trading resumed June 23 after patched signing code, vault checks and governance-approved recovery procedures were introduced.

As crypto.news reported when trading resumed, THORChain restored swaps, signing, churning and liquidity operations after completing its restart process.

GoPlus referred to that intervention as evidence that THORChain operators possess working tools for stopping network activity when security concerns reach an emergency threshold.

Bybit laundering dispute remains central to the argument

The disagreement over illicit transactions dates back to the February 2025 Bybit hack. The FBI formally attributed the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in virtual assets from Bybit to North Korea. Its public notice identified the activity as part of the TraderTraitor campaign.

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The agency specifically encouraged exchanges, bridges, RPC operators, DeFi services and blockchain companies to block transactions involving addresses connected with the stolen assets.

Much of the stolen Ethereum was later converted into Bitcoin through cross-chain services. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said around 72% of roughly $900 million in converted assets had passed through THORChain.

Crypto.news reported in March 2025 that the attackers converted most of the stolen 499,000 ETH within ten days, with THORChain handling a large share of the swaps.

Early in that laundering period, THORChain recorded $2.91 billion in trading volume and roughly $3 million in fee revenue over five days, according to on-chain data cited by crypto.news.

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GoPlus’s new post uses a later estimate of roughly $5.9 billion in volume and $5.5 million in fees. Those figures are the security firm’s calculation and have not been confirmed in THORChain financial disclosures.

Earlier THORChain vote to block flows was reversed

The Bybit episode produced an internal dispute among THORChain contributors and validators. In February 2025, three validators voted to halt Ethereum trading as stolen Bybit funds moved through the protocol. Developer Oleg Petrov later said the action was reversed within minutes.

Core contributor Pluto subsequently said he would stop contributing to THORChain. Validator TCB said at the time that he could leave as well unless the network developed a way to stop North Korean-linked flows.

THORChain founder John-Paul Thorbjornsen supported continued trading and opposed allowing a non-authority third party to dynamically update protocol-level deny lists.

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Thorbjornsen said he would support nodes using static deny lists based on official OFAC or FBI information if individual operators were comfortable doing so.

GoPlus now argues that official government attribution provides a stronger basis for intervention than dynamic lists maintained by private security companies.

The FBI’s 2025 Bybit notice explicitly asked private-sector virtual asset services to block transactions involving or derived from the listed TraderTraitor addresses.

Bitget flows renew the decentralization dispute

GoPlus brought the earlier arguments back into focus after the September Bitget breach. The firm claims approximately 101.5 BTC worth around $8.5 million has already exited through THORChain from Bitget-linked flows. It said another 27.63 million XRP, valued near $43 million, was moving through swaps toward Bitcoin.

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Those numbers come from GoPlus’s tracing and should be treated as the security company’s analysis rather than figures confirmed by Bitget or THORChain.

Bitget has raised its confirmed estimate of assets transferred to attacker-controlled addresses to approximately $387.5 million. The exchange has begun offering recovery bounties and plans to restore withdrawals in stages from Sept. 28. Crypto.news reported the updated loss and bounty program on Sept. 26.

GoPlus said THORChain could use its existing emergency framework for funds tied to addresses officially identified by agencies such as the FBI or OFAC.

THORChain’s documented emergency procedures define a critical event as one in which funds in pools or vaults face an attack or another threat to protocol security. The documentation tells node operators to initiate pauses and vote on targeted emergency actions under those conditions.

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Whether the same framework should be applied to externally stolen assets moving through THORChain is the point of dispute raised by GoPlus. THORChain’s published procedures describe technical security emergencies but do not state that every third-party theft automatically requires a protocol halt.



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Japan arrests two suspect over 81M yen crypto police scam

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Polish Olympic chief arrested in Zondacrypto probe

Japanese police have arrested two people suspected of helping a fake police fraud group steal cryptocurrency worth approximately 81 million yen from a woman in her 40s.

Summary

  • Japanese police arrested two suspects over a scheme allegedly stealing 81 million yen in cryptocurrency.
  • Police believe the fraud group operated from Cambodia and targeted a woman in her forties.
  • Investigators say the suspects’ linked cases caused confirmed losses totaling approximately 240 million yen overall.
  • Japan recorded 617.1 billion yen in fake police scam losses through July this year nationally.
  • Authorities believe a Chinese national directed the operation from a suspected Cambodia-based fraud center overseas.

FNN reported on Sept. 25 that police arrested 31-year-old Saki Okayama and 38-year-old Mitsuki Minamisawa on suspicion of involvement in the scheme. Investigators believe the group operated from Cambodia and impersonated Japanese police officers to pressure victims into transferring assets.

The victim was allegedly told that her bank card had been connected to a large money laundering investigation. According to police information cited by FNN, the group claimed a fraud case had caused 600 billion yen in losses and that around 400 accounts had been used to launder funds.

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Fake police allegedly demanded proof of innocence

The scheme began with a telephone call from a man claiming to represent the Osaka Prefectural Police.

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FNN reported that the caller told the woman her card appeared among accounts connected with the supposed money laundering investigation. The caller then claimed she was close to being arrested and needed to “prove her innocence.”

Police allege that the false accusation eventually led the victim to transfer cryptocurrency worth around 81 million yen. The assets were valued at approximately $515,000 using the conversion cited in reports on the case.

Investigators have not publicly identified the cryptocurrencies involved or disclosed the wallet addresses that received the assets. Available reporting therefore does not establish how the cryptocurrency was subsequently moved, converted or withdrawn.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department believes Okayama and Minamisawa participated in a larger organization. Known losses from fraud cases involving the two suspects have reached approximately 240 million yen, according to FNN.

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Police suspect the group maintained its operational base in Cambodia, more than 4,000 kilometers from Japan. Investigators believe a Chinese national acted as the person directing the operation.

The available FNN report does not state that either suspect has been convicted. Both remain suspects in the investigation, and the allegations concern their suspected involvement in the fraud network.

Japan fake police scams are causing rising losses

The arrests come during a sharp increase in losses from people impersonating police officers throughout Japan.

Japan’sv National Police Agency reported that fake police scams caused 61.71 billion yen in losses during the first seven months of 2026. Authorities recorded 5,422 cases through the end of July.

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Although the number of cases fell 6.4% from the same period a year earlier, financial losses increased 25.7%. Fake police schemes therefore remained one of Japan’s most costly forms of special fraud.

The National Police Agency began treating fake police fraud as a separate category in its 2026 statistics because the method had become increasingly common. Its data shows total special-fraud losses reached 210.81 billion yen through July, up 42.9% from a year earlier.

During the first half of the year, fake police scams caused 50.79 billion yen in losses. The average completed case cost victims around 11.64 million yen, according to police statistics.

The 81 million yen allegedly taken in the latest cryptocurrency case was therefore substantially above that first-half average.

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Police have documented repeated cases in which impersonators tell victims that they are under investigation, that an arrest warrant exists or that their money must be transferred to establish innocence.

A separate Sept. 25 case involved a man in his 70s who lost approximately 73 million yen after callers claiming to represent the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department asked him to move money to prove he was innocent. Police stressed that investigators do not instruct people to transfer money to designated accounts.

Cryptocurrency is becoming part of Japanese fraud controls

Japanese regulators have been strengthening controls where fraud proceeds move through cryptocurrency exchanges.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency and National Police Agency asked exchanges in August to consider withdrawal delays and stronger checks on newly registered wallet addresses.

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The proposed controls include waiting periods before new withdrawal addresses can be used, stronger transaction monitoring and restrictions when account behavior appears inconsistent with a customer’s normal activity.

Authorities have separately asked exchanges to improve phishing-resistant authentication and respond more quickly when police identify suspicious transactions.

The request followed rapidly rising fraud losses. National Police Agency figures showed 18,067 special-fraud cases and 151.47 billion yen in losses through May. Fake police schemes accounted for 40.32 billion yen of that amount.

Japan’s police have warned specifically about cryptocurrency investment scams. An updated Metropolitan Police notice says authorities continue receiving reports from people persuaded through social networks and matching applications to transfer cryptocurrency to fraudulent investment platforms.

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A separate September case in Gifu involved a woman in her 70s who was allegedly told by people posing as police and prosecutors to convert assets into cryptocurrency for an investigation. She lost cryptocurrency worth 39.29 million yen and another 2 million yen in cash, according to police reporting.

Cambodia link points to a larger regional enforcement issue

The suspected Cambodia base in the 81 million yen case fits a pattern authorities throughout Asia have been investigating involving fraud operations run from overseas compounds.

Japan arrested an alleged senior Prince Group figure in June as authorities examined links between the Cambodia-based conglomerate and international fraud networks. Tokyo police arrested Hu Xiaowei over an alleged false residency registration while investigating his activities in Japan.

The current fake police case has not been publicly linked to Prince Group, and available police reporting does not identify the suspected Cambodia location or organization behind the operation.

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Other Asian authorities have found Cambodia connections in separate cryptocurrency fraud investigations. South Korean police arrested 23 people in June over an alleged USDT laundering operation serving a Cambodia-based phishing network.

South Korean investigation involved 16.8 billion won in suspected laundering activity and more than 11,000 bank accounts.

Cambodia has meanwhile moved to strengthen criminal penalties targeting online scam operations. Its Senate approved legislation in April covering people involved in scam compounds and related organized fraud activity.

Cambodian legislation as authorities faced increased pressure over fraud centers operating in the country.

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Tokyo police continue investigating the organization behind the latest case, including the suspected Chinese director and the group’s Cambodia-based operations. FNN reported that confirmed fraud losses involving the two arrested suspects currently total approximately 240 million yen.




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Crypto World

THORChain Refuses to Block Assets Tied to Bitget Hackers

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THORChain (RUNE) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

Hackers stole $387.5 million from crypto exchange Bitget on September 24. Part of it is now being turned into Bitcoin through THORChain, which refuses to block it.

THORChain lets anyone swap a coin on one blockchain for a coin on another, with no ID check. Once it becomes Bitcoin, no company can freeze it.

Bitget Asks THORChain to Turn the Hacker Away

The hacker’s wallets are public and tracked. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen asked THORChain to refuse them.

“Decentralization is a design principle, not a shield for facilitating known stolen funds. The industry is watching,” she said.

Blockchain tracker MistTrack says this has happened before. After the $1.46 billion Bybit hack last year, nearly $1.2 billion was reportedly traced through THORChain.

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THORChain Says It Is No Different From Bitcoin

THORChain pushed back. It calls itself permissionless, open to anyone, just like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain.

“What responsibility should Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain bear when handling known stolen funds?” the team stated.

This response questions what responsibility those base blockchains bear for handling known stolen funds, deflecting calls for THORChain to block or monitor illicit flows.

It highlights core crypto tensions between permissionless cross-chain swapping on THORChain and industry demands for protocols to address publicly tracked hacker addresses.

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THORChain Has Hit Pause Before

Star Xu, founder of rival exchange OKX, called THORChain’s Bitcoin comparison “False!” This follows a May incident where THORChain paused a vault after roughly $10 million was drained, its own report shows.

“A network that can stop when its own funds are at risk, but refuses to do so when someone else’s funds are at risk, is not “like Bitcoin,”” the OKX executive slammed.

May was not the first time. Nodes rapidly halted the network after a 2021 hack. In January 2025, they voted to freeze its lending and savings products.

Further, a sanctioned state, North Korea, already used THORChain to move over $1 billion from Bybit. Researchers and Bybit itself traced the bulk of the February 2025 attack through THORChain as Lazarus Group converted it to Bitcoin.

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What Happens to Bitget Users

Bitget says a $464 million protection fund covers every customer. Withdrawals restart Monday, starting with Bitcoin at 8:00 UTC.

Chen says North Korea was very likely behind it. Bitget is offering a 5% bounty for help freezing the funds.

THORChain has still not blocked the flagged wallets, and despite all manner of slamming for its stance, the network’s RUNE token is up by over 20% in the last 24 hours.

THORChain (RUNE) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto
THORChain (RUNE) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

The post THORChain Refuses to Block Assets Tied to Bitget Hackers appeared first on BeInCrypto.



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