Mastercard has taken a prominent step in the crypto space by joining an upcoming XRP Ledger hackathon in New York as a sponsor. The global payments leader is set to participate in the 36-hour developer event scheduled for October 24 and 25, bringing together teams aiming to build and launch projects on the XRP Ledger prior to Ripple‘s Swell conference, which will follow in the next week.
Mastercard deepens XRPL involvement
The hackathon will focus on four primary tracks: protocol innovation, agentic finance, lending, and borrowing. Organizers have also called on existing developer teams to consider integrating XRPL features into their current projects.
Mastercard’s engagement with Ripple has been gradually expanding over the past year. In November 2024, Ripple announced a partnership with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini, revolving around Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. This collaboration followed the launch of a special XRP-compatible Mastercard credit card by Gemini in August of last year.
As investors react to rapid shifts driven by central bank decisions or sudden altcoin listings, the need for more efficient tools has become a focal point in the community. Rather than managing charts, news, and portfolios across multiple platforms, traders are now turning to privacy-first solutions like CryptoAppsy. The platform allows users to view real-time charts, access smart price alerts and coin-specific news, and track macroeconomic data—all on a single screen, without requiring account registration.
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AAPLPeter Brandt shifts Bitcoin outlook
In the latest market developments, Bitcoin surged to $72,335, prompting notable trader Peter Brandt to abandon his bearish outlook and open a long position. Brandt, who leads Factor LLC, credited a decisive breakout from an infrequent inverted head-and-shoulders chart pattern as the cause for his shift in strategy, ending what had been an extended period of declines for the top cryptocurrency.
Brandt had previously expressed concerns about Bitcoin’s trajectory, suggesting there was a significant chance for a further drop, particularly as the broader trend pointed downward. However, once the CME Bitcoin futures (BTC-056 contract) price broke decisively above the crucial neckline of the pattern, the outlook reversed, resulting in a daily gain of $2,585 and driving the asset sharply higher.
Due to the prolonged formation of the right shoulder, Brandt had assessed a 60/40 probability favoring a downside resolution, especially since the broader trend had been bearish, but the technical breakout changed that dynamic.
Protest at Ripple co-founder’s home
In San Francisco, a group of Sunrise Movement activists gathered outside the home of Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder, as part of a nationwide protest targeting the use of automated license plate readers and law enforcement surveillance technology.
The demonstration, which took place on Friday, was aimed at criticizing Larsen for backing the city’s expansion of police surveillance systems. Protesters distributed flyers on the risks posed by Flock cameras and carried a mock surveillance camera to highlight their concerns, with a message asking if this approach makes residents feel safer.
Luc Bouchard, a local Sunrise Movement organizer, stated that the group doubts automated license plate readers are effective in curbing crime and argued that resources would be better invested in affordable housing.
BlackRock leads US Ethereum ETF inflows
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has posted more than $1.02 billion in net inflows over nine straight US trading sessions from August 17 to August 27, according to data from SoSoValue and reports compiled by Farside.
During this period, ETHA captured roughly 72% of the total net inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs in the US market. The broader group of funds attracted around $1.42 billion in the same span, while ETHA consistently avoided outflows.
On August 28, the US spot Ethereum ETF market saw an additional $102.1 million in net inflows. ETHA remained at the forefront, taking in approximately $83.8 million that day as demand for BlackRock’s offering continued to outpace its competitors.
ETHA accumulated $889.8 million in its first eight trading sessions, underscoring strong investor demand for exposure to Ethereum via BlackRock’s ETF product.
Shiba Inu gains exposure in Japan with new exchange listing
Japan’s Shiba Inu community is gaining momentum after the country’s first new registration of a crypto asset exchange operator since 2022. Laser Digital Japan, the local unit of Nomura’s digital assets division, confirmed it has secured registration and can now operate as a crypto asset exchange service provider under the Payment Services Act.
This milestone follows four years without new entrants to Japan’s crypto asset industry, a period in which the country has implemented sweeping regulatory reforms, especially regarding stablecoins. Institutional sentiment has turned more positive as digital assets are increasingly seen as diversification tools, with Shiba Inu set to benefit from the growing presence of exchanges like Laser Digital Japan.
