Protocol 28 is the version Pi ledgers are closing on
Pi Horizon still lists current protocol version 28. The first Protocol 28 ledger closed at 17:01:30 UTC on October 16, with the base fee and reserve unchanged.
Karthik Subramanian
Digital Assets Correspondent
Karthik Subramanian is a founder, writer, and technology consultant with nine years in the crypto ecosystem. He covers token economics, L1/L2 infrastructure, DeFi protocols, wallets/custody, and the bridge between crypto and forex—broker technology, liquidity, and macro drivers. Karthik’s writing focuses on clear, practical frameworks that help professionals evaluate new products and on-chain innovation alongside FX market realities.
October 2026
Tether Capital invests in AIsa without a stated size
Tether Capital invested in AIsa on October 15 and did not price the stake. AIsa says total funding now exceeds $9 million, against $6.5 million on July 3.
Qivalis holds a Dutch e-money licence and is not issuing
Qivalis holds a Dutch e-money licence from October 13, 2026, and says it is not issuing. MiCA and a white paper still stand in front of the euro token.
Binance Pool closes November 10; shares stop at 07:00 UTC
Binance will shut Binance Pool at 07:00 UTC on November 10, with Pool Savings and Cloud Mining included. Shares after the cutoff will not be credited.
Saldo Bank to be acquired by Payward, terms undisclosed
Saldo Bank has a signed Payward deal via Finnish holdco Saldo Finance Oy. Terms were not disclosed, and the 2027 close still needs regulatory approvals.
3iQ's Abu Dhabi step is in-principle approval, not a licence
3iQ Middle East Ltd has ADGM in-principle approval for a Category 4 licence. The FSRA has not issued a Financial Services Permission, and preconditions remain.
Sberbank joins Russia's digital-currency exchange register
Sberbank joined the digital-currency exchange register on 12 October. December 1 is the bank's plan, not the regulator's date, and 11 firms are now listed.
Blur will deprecate its NFT frontend on November 12
Blur will deprecate its NFT frontend on November 12, 2026. The on-chain protocol and fee switch stay live, while Blend stops matching new loans the same day.
Shardeum applies the v1.1.0 plan at height 7,927,860
Shardeum applied v1.1.0 at block 7,927,860 on October 13. Public blocks show a 12-minute gap, not the halt of one to two hours venues were told to plan around.
XRP Ledger skipped its vote to close a 2015 mint bug
The XRP Ledger closed a 2015 overflow in xrpld 3.4.1 without an amendment vote. The advisory found no public exploit, and source code lagged the binary.
DATA Network to retire its chain in a $30m Sui deal
Sui Foundation is investing $30 million in DATA Network and taking the largest institutional stake as the protocol retires its chain for Sui. No date is set.
DGLD opens one-ounce PAMP gold on Solana via SwissBorg
DGLD, one fine troy ounce of allocated PAMP gold, is now native on Solana through SwissBorg. New tokens use their own bars, not a bridged Ethereum supply.
Samsung Wallet sets late-October USDC on US Galaxy phones
Samsung Wallet will open USDC transfers for eligible US Galaxy users in the last week of October. The 82 million figure counts compatible devices, not accounts.
Rain National Trust Bank files an OCC charter
Rain National Trust Bank applied to the OCC on October 5, 2026 for a trust charter to custody assets and issue stablecoins, not to take deposits or make loans.
Soda Labs raises $3m seed for on-chain privacy
Soda Labs raised a $3 million seed funded entirely by NextBlock to scale Bubble, its GC-MPC privacy layer, on public chains including Ethereum and COTI.
FNB share accounts gain VALR crypto that cannot leave
FNB opened VALR-partnered crypto inside existing share accounts. Coins cannot move to an external wallet, and the bank ties that fence to exchange control.
Cactus Custody launches Swiss custody; the audit stays in Asia
Cactus Custody's Swiss custody service keeps keys in Switzerland via ChainTech AG. Audit reports and OneDegree cover still apply only to Hong Kong and Bhutan.
Xverse closes Draper-led round for a Bitcoin neobank
Xverse has closed a Draper Associates-led round, with Trust Machines and Draper Dragon, to build a self-custodial Bitcoin neobank. No amount was disclosed.
Ether.fi moves neobank payments onto MoonPay's stack
Ether.fi is moving its neobank payments onto MoonPay, from fiat ramps to virtual accounts. September card spend was $123.7 million, the companies said.
DeFi Development authorizes CHAD buybacks, but not yet
DeFi Development's board authorized buybacks of every CHAD share, including future issues, but will not buy until the preferred first reaches its $10 par.
Also filing this week: Rick Steves and Abdelaziz Fathi.