Hodor ☝️

BREAKING NEWS SINGAPORE TO LAUNCH GOLD VAULT SERVICE FOR FOREIGN CENTRAL BANKS Big changes are happening now in the global gold market...

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There is a massive GAP between gold demand and gold prices: Physical-gold backed ETFs tracked by Bloomberg have recorded 14 consecutive WEEKS of inflows. $GLD This has brought gold ETF holdings to nearly 102 million troy ounces, their highest level since mid-2022. However, over the same period, gold prices have declined -1%, after rising as much as +16% before falling -14% from their local highs. $GLDM Long-term gold investors appear to be taking advantage of this accumulation opportunity to hedge against fiscal uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and the constant erosion of currency purchasing power. At the same time, short-term gold price movements reflect interest-rate expectations shaped by oil prices and FX movements, as well as technical factors. Smart money is accumulating gold at a historic pace.

📈 Batch transaction usage is growing rapidly on the XRP Ledger. Over the past week, more than 20% of all XRPL transactions were Batch transactions. Adoption is picking up fast. 🚀 bithomp.com/network-statisti… #XRPL #XRP

This chart shows you exactly how much the real value of labour has collapsed over the decades. The number of hours the average worker would need to work to earn 1 ounce of gold is at a record high. Fiat money is becoming worthless

Online ads can apparently do a lot more than track you. Citizen Lab has uncovered a technique called “AdFection” that uses targeted advertising to deliver zero-click spyware. The attack works without the victim clicking an ad. A malicious ad can be shown to a specifically targeted device, exploit a vulnerability, and potentially install spyware automatically. Citizen Lab traced the operation to Discover-Tech, an Israeli ad-tech company whose Controlium platform was used to profile and identify targets before delivering the spyware. Researchers found evidence that at least 45 devices at Al Jazeera were infected with Candiru spyware between 2024 and 2025. Discover-Tech’s advertising reached more than 120,000 websites and around 75,000 apps, potentially exposing hundreds of millions of users to the tracking infrastructure. Google and other advertising companies have since cut ties with Discover-Tech following the findings. citizenlab.ca/research/how-d…

Ripple's institutional payments strategy has evolved considerably since 2019. A review of Ripple's own published statements documents its evolution from XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity to a broader institutional payments platform supporting XRP, RLUSD and other settlement assets. The evolution is particularly evident when comparing Ripple's historical positioning of XRP with its more recent positioning of RLUSD. 2019–2022: XRP and On-Demand Liquidity Ripple marketed XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) for: • Instant cross-border settlement • 24/7 liquidity access • Reduced prefunding requirements • Improved working capital efficiency • Cross-border treasury management In July 2022, Ripple announced that FOMO Pay would use XRP-based ODL for treasury management, utilizing XRP as a bridge between fiat currencies to facilitate international payments without traditional prefunding requirements. Sources: ripple.com/insights/q3-2019-… ripple.com/ripple-press/fomo… November 2023: Ripple Payments Ripple announced the evolution of RippleNet into Ripple Payments, expanding its existing crypto-enabled payments infrastructure into a broader offering with additional liquidity options, traditional payout networks and enterprise payment services. The company emphasized customer flexibility, including access to multiple currencies and settlement options. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… December 2024: RLUSD launches On December 17, Ripple launched RLUSD on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, positioning its dollar-backed stablecoin for institutional payments and financial services. A month earlier, Ripple explicitly acknowledged: "And for major currency corridors with high liquidity where XRP is not required as a bridge asset, RLUSD can still deliver those same advantages." Ripple described the two assets as complementary, maintaining XRP's role in cross-currency bridging, particularly in less liquid corridors, while positioning RLUSD for dollar-denominated transactions. Sources: ripple.com/insights/ushering… ripple.com/ripple-press/rais… April 2025: RLUSD integrated into Ripple Payments Ripple announced that RLUSD had been integrated into its cross-border payments platform. BKK Forex and iSend were identified as customers using RLUSD in payment flows to improve cross-border treasury operations. Ripple explicitly marketed RLUSD for: • Instant cross-border settlement • Liquidity for remittances and treasury operations • Fiat-to-crypto conversion • Institutional collateral These capabilities overlap with several functions historically marketed through XRP-based ODL. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… May 2025: XRP Markets Reports discontinued On May 5, 33 days after announcing RLUSD's integration into Ripple Payments, Ripple published its final quarterly XRP Markets Report in its existing format. Ripple announced it would discontinue the reports beginning Q2 2025, citing the use of its disclosures against the company by former SEC leadership. Ripple stated it would continue publishing XRP-related information through other channels and maintaining public access to its XRP holdings. Source: ripple.com/insights/q1-2025-… August 2025: Ripple announces $200 million acquisition of Rail Ripple announced an agreement to acquire Rail, a stablecoin-powered global payments infrastructure company. The acquisition was intended to expand Ripple Payments with: • Stablecoin payments and settlements • Virtual accounts and collections • Automated treasury operations • Multiple digital asset liquidity options • 24/7 payment infrastructure Importantly, Ripple explicitly identified XRP, RLUSD and other digital assets as supported liquidity options within its expanded offering. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… November 2025: RLUSD positioned for card settlement Ripple announced a collaboration with Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini to explore RLUSD settlement of fiat-denominated card transactions on XRPL. The proposed arrangement would use RLUSD for blockchain-based settlement involving Mastercard and WebBank. Ripple also acknowledged XRP's continuing role as XRPL's native asset, supporting network operations and transactions. The announcement described a planned integration, not a completed production deployment. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… February 2026: Ripple outlines XRP's institutional utility Ripple published an institutional DeFi report describing XRP's continuing role across payments, liquidity and credit markets. The company identified several functions: • Cross-currency bridging and FX auto-bridging • Network transaction fees • Account and ledger reserve requirements • Potential institutional lending and credit markets • Liquidity supporting tokenized financial assets These represent identifiable technical and potential economic uses for XRP, including existing network functions and developing institutional applications. However, the report does not establish how much institutional payment volume currently uses XRP as an intermediary settlement asset. Source: ripple.com/insights/institut… March 2026: Ripple expands stablecoin payments infrastructure Ripple announced an expansion of Ripple Payments into an end-to-end platform supporting fiat and stablecoin transactions. The announcement identified several institutional customers and use cases: • Corpay: Using RLUSD to fund and settle positions across Asia-Pacific without costly prefunding • alfred: Cross-border stablecoin-to-fiat transfers • AltPayNet: Stablecoin integration into international payment flows • MassPay: Plans to expand into stablecoin-funded payouts Ripple also reported more than $100 billion in cumulative processed volume across Ripple Payments. That figure represents platform-wide activity. Ripple did not disclose how much was attributable specifically to XRP or RLUSD. The Corpay arrangement provides a particularly direct comparison with historical XRP positioning. Ripple previously emphasized XRP-based ODL for sourcing liquidity and eliminating traditional prefunding requirements. In March 2026, it explicitly identified RLUSD as supporting institutional funding and settlement without costly prefunding. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… June 2026: RLUSD and cross-border currency settlement Ripple and Bitso announced plans involving RLUSD and the Mexican peso-backed MXNB stablecoin for enterprise payments and settlement between the United States and Mexico. The initiative involves liquidity and settlement infrastructure on XRPL, including its Permissioned DEX capabilities. The proposed integration would bring dollar- and peso-denominated stablecoin liquidity to a corridor where Ripple and Bitso have historically supported XRP-based payment infrastructure. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/ripp… October 12, 2026: RLUSD expands into institutional custody and collateral Ripple announced that Standard Chartered's custody support for RLUSD on XRPL was live. Standard Chartered, Ripple and LMAX Group also outlined plans to recognize RLUSD as eligible collateral for institutional trading while maintaining custody of the stablecoin within regulated infrastructure. The custody capability was announced as live. The broader collateral arrangement remained a planned integration. Source: ripple.com/ripple-press/stan… October 15, 2026: RLUSD integrated into core banking infrastructure Ripple and Cross River Bank announced the integration of RLUSD on XRPL into Cross River's core banking platform. The announcement emphasizes: • 24/7 cross-border payments • Greater intraday settlement flexibility • Reduced settlement latency • Treasury movement • Conversion between U.S. dollars and RLUSD • Access to ACH, wires and real-time payments through a single banking API Cross River explicitly identifies RLUSD as an additional payment rail, with XRPL providing the underlying blockchain infrastructure. XRP is not identified as the bridge currency or settlement asset in this specific integration. Source: crossriver.com/newsroom/cros… The evolution in Ripple's positioning 2019–2022: XRP-based ODL was marketed for instant settlement, cross-border liquidity, reduced prefunding and treasury efficiency. 2023: Ripple expanded its existing payment capabilities into the broader Ripple Payments offering. 2024: Ripple launched RLUSD and acknowledged that stablecoins could provide overlapping payment advantages without requiring XRP as a bridge asset in certain currency corridors. 2025: RLUSD entered Ripple Payments, Ripple discontinued its quarterly XRP Markets Reports in their existing format, and the company announced further investment in stablecoin payment infrastructure. 2026: Ripple increasingly markets RLUSD for institutional settlement, treasury operations, liquidity management, banking integration and trading collateral. During the same period, Ripple continued developing and promoting XRP's role in cross-currency bridging and XRPL-based institutional finance. What Ripple's published information establishes: Ripple's historical XRP-based ODL model used XRP as an intermediary asset to bridge currencies and source liquidity for cross-border transactions. Its newer stablecoin-enabled payment arrangements can facilitate dollar-denominated settlement without requiring XRP as that intermediary. These approaches offer overlapping payment capabilities, but they use different settlement instruments and do not necessarily generate the same economic demand for XRP. Ripple continues to position XRP for cross-currency bridging, particularly in less liquid corridors. XRP also retains its native network functions, while Ripple is developing additional institutional lending and liquidity use cases. These are meaningful functions, but their existence should not be conflated with demonstrated large-scale institutional settlement volume involving XRP. Ripple's announcements do not establish that RLUSD has replaced XRP across Ripple Payments. They do establish that Ripple's institutional payments infrastructure increasingly supports multiple settlement assets, including arrangements in which XRP is not identified as a required intermediary. The March 2026 Corpay announcement is particularly relevant because it identifies RLUSD supporting funding and settlement without traditional prefunding, one of the principal advantages historically promoted through XRP-based ODL. Ripple's disclosed platform-wide payment volumes do not establish the proportion of transactions settled through XRP, RLUSD or other supported assets. Ripple's commercial growth, institutional adoption of the XRP Ledger and institutional demand for XRP remain separate measures. Greater disclosure of asset-specific payment volumes would provide a clearer understanding of XRP's economic role within Ripple's expanding institutional payments business. ethereum:0x8292bb45bf1ee4d140127049757c2e0ff06317ed ripple:native

Time to create some Learning Xahau posts 🛠️