October 2026 failed to live up to its 'Uptober' reputation. Bitcoin ended the month lower, while a new stock-index policy raised questions about the largest corporate Bitcoin holder's eligibility. Two projects founded by Tieshun Roquerre announced wind-downs, Ripple received a major US banking approval and Solana replaced its original consensus system. Here are the month's key developments, separating confirmed events from possible future consequences.

Bitcoin lost 7.22% in a second consecutive negative October

According to historical Binance BTC/USDT trading data, Bitcoin opened October near $83,624 and closed October 31 at approximately $77,582, a 7.22% decline. Its intramonth high reached $87,220 and its low was $76,326. October 2025 had also ended lower, by almost 4%, making this the second consecutive losing October.

The 'Uptober' nickname reflects the positive seasonality of many earlier Octobers, not a rule governing future performance. Late-month pressure intensified after Binance disclosed a major security incident on October 29. The exchange reported approximately $6.34 billion in impacted assets and partial freezes; the total amount affected should not automatically be equated with permanently unrecovered customer losses. The following sections focus on other developments across the sector.

MSCI adopted new eligibility rules for non-operating companies

On October 15, index provider MSCI published the outcome of its consultation on the eligibility of non-operating companies for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Under the revised methodology, issuers whose financial characteristics resemble investment vehicles rather than operating businesses may no longer qualify for inclusion.

The assessment starts with a screen for substantial operating assets. Companies failing that test face five additional financial-ratio screens, with ineligibility triggered by failure on at least four. Existing constituents receive additional buffers across reporting periods to avoid excessive index turnover.

Strategy and Metaplanet face potential deletion, not automatic removal

Earlier scenario analysis flagged Michael Saylor's Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potential exclusions. But MSCI's October 15 adoption of the methodology was not itself an immediate deletion of either stock. MSCI scheduled the final index review announcement for November 11, with the resulting changes effective after the market close on November 30, 2026.

The main concern is passive investment demand. Funds tracking an index may be required to sell securities removed from it, although actual outflows depend on fund holdings, implementation rules and the final deletion list. The first trading day after MSCI's announcement, Strategy shares closed down 9.56% at $136.83. The Nasdaq Composite also fell about 2.14%, so the entire stock decline should not be attributed solely to MSCI.

Strategy spent far more buying back STRC than acquiring Bitcoin

Strategy increasingly emphasized capital management. Its early-October filing, followed by October 12, October 19 and October 26 disclosures, show approximately $664.1 million spent repurchasing STRC preferred shares between October 1 and October 25. The buybacks were intended to support the preferred security's trading profile and manage obligations associated with the company's funding structure.

Over the first three reporting weeks, Strategy acquired 851 BTC for around $72.3 million, in batches of 334, 250 and 267 BTC. It bought no additional Bitcoin from October 19 to 25, leaving holdings at 848,517 BTC. However, on November 2 the company disclosed another 811 BTC purchase over October 26–November 1. Because that reporting period crosses the month boundary, 851 BTC should not be described as the definitive tally of all purchases made during October.

The repurchases show preferred-share obligations becoming a distinct priority. They do not, by themselves, establish that Strategy had abandoned Bitcoin accumulation or was on the verge of failing to meet its debts.

Blast announced the shutdown of its Ethereum Layer 2

On October 2, the Blast team announced plans to wind down its Layer 2 network. Its central explanation was economic: the cost of running the chain exceeded revenue and management saw no credible path to a sustainable operation. Blast was created by Tieshun 'Pacman' Roquerre, who also founded the NFT marketplace Blur.

Blast held more than $2 billion in total value locked at its peak in 2024, compared with approximately $32 million when the closure was announced. CoinDesk reported that the network earned around $1,793 in user activity revenue in the preceding month, down from about $3.5 million at its June 2024 peak. Its BLAST token had also lost roughly 98% of its launch value.

Users were advised to migrate assets back to Ethereum. Withdrawals through Blast's regular interface were available until October 26; afterward, remaining users needed to interact directly with the bridge contracts. This was therefore not just a token-price story but an operational deadline for holders of assets on the chain.

Blur will close its website on November 12, but the contracts will remain

On October 12, Blur announced a planned shutdown of the NFT marketplace frontend on November 12, 2026. Its NFT lending service, Blend, will also stop arranging new loans on that date. Borrowers were asked to repay existing obligations or face default under their terms, with a separate withdrawal tool planned for remaining positions.

According to CoinDesk's marketplace data, Blur's monthly trading volume fell from around $1.43 billion in March 2023 to less than $7 million by March 2026, a drop of more than 99.5%. During its rise it held more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading. Yet closing a website does not delete the blockchain-based protocol: the smart contracts will remain on Ethereum, and BLUR token holders retain control of the marketplace fee switch.

The two wind-downs highlighted the limitations of businesses heavily dependent on short-lived incentives. Their explanations were not identical: Blast explicitly cited operating losses, while Blur had not published an equivalent official assessment of its profitability.

Ripple received final approval for a US national trust bank

On October 26, Ripple announced final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). The decision completed a process following conditional approval in December 2025 and laid the groundwork for federally supervised custody and reserve management.

The charter allows the institution to manage segregated reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, serve as collateral trustee for its holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody. But, as The Block explained, a national trust bank is not a full-service commercial bank: it does not take ordinary consumer deposits or extend loans.

RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Ripple's milestone was therefore the approval of specialized regulated infrastructure, not permission to provide every conventional banking service.

Solana activated Alpenglow, targeting 150-millisecond finality

On October 21, Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on mainnet, replacing TowerBFT, the validator voting system used since the blockchain launched in 2020. Alpenglow's first phase, Votor, changes the voting process and removes ordinary validator vote transactions from blocks.

Developer group Anza confirmed the transition at slot 459,653,000. Solana Foundation describes a target reduction in finality from approximately 12.8 seconds under TowerBFT to around 150 milliseconds. That target is a consensus design metric, not a promise that every exchange deposit or wallet interaction will complete in precisely 150 milliseconds.

A later phase, Rotor, is intended to replace Turbine for propagating blocks through the network. As of the end of October, no activation date had been set. Faster finality could benefit payments and exchange infrastructure, while actual user experience also depends on wallets, RPC providers and service-specific crediting policies.

Why October mattered for affiliate marketing

For media buyers and affiliate networks, the month's developments exposed several operational risks. Users of NFT platforms and Layer 2 networks need to monitor frontend shutdown dates, lending obligations and access to withdrawals. Stablecoin settlement requires clarity over the issuer, reserve manager and legal protections of the product. And for Solana payments, network-level finality must be distinguished from the time a specific payment provider actually credits a transaction.

October 2026 failed to live up to its 'Uptober' reputation. Bitcoin ended the month lower, while a new stock-index policy raised questions about the largest corporate Bitcoin holder's eligibility. Two projects founded by Tieshun Roquerre announced wind-downs, Ripple received a major US banking approval and Solana replaced its original consensus system. Here are the month's key developments, separating confirmed events from possible future consequences.

Bitcoin lost 7.22% in a second consecutive negative October

According to historical Binance BTC/USDT trading data, Bitcoin opened October near $83,624 and closed October 31 at approximately $77,582, a 7.22% decline. Its intramonth high reached $87,220 and its low was $76,326. October 2025 had also ended lower, by almost 4%, making this the second consecutive losing October.

The 'Uptober' nickname reflects the positive seasonality of many earlier Octobers, not a rule governing future performance. Late-month pressure intensified after Binance disclosed a major security incident on October 29. The exchange reported approximately $6.34 billion in impacted assets and partial freezes; the total amount affected should not automatically be equated with permanently unrecovered customer losses. The following sections focus on other developments across the sector.

MSCI adopted new eligibility rules for non-operating companies

On October 15, index provider MSCI published the outcome of its consultation on the eligibility of non-operating companies for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Under the revised methodology, issuers whose financial characteristics resemble investment vehicles rather than operating businesses may no longer qualify for inclusion.

The assessment starts with a screen for substantial operating assets. Companies failing that test face five additional financial-ratio screens, with ineligibility triggered by failure on at least four. Existing constituents receive additional buffers across reporting periods to avoid excessive index turnover.

Strategy and Metaplanet face potential deletion, not automatic removal

Earlier scenario analysis flagged Michael Saylor's Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potential exclusions. But MSCI's October 15 adoption of the methodology was not itself an immediate deletion of either stock. MSCI scheduled the final index review announcement for November 11, with the resulting changes effective after the market close on November 30, 2026.

The main concern is passive investment demand. Funds tracking an index may be required to sell securities removed from it, although actual outflows depend on fund holdings, implementation rules and the final deletion list. The first trading day after MSCI's announcement, Strategy shares closed down 9.56% at $136.83. The Nasdaq Composite also fell about 2.14%, so the entire stock decline should not be attributed solely to MSCI.

Strategy spent far more buying back STRC than acquiring Bitcoin

Strategy increasingly emphasized capital management. Its early-October filing, followed by October 12, October 19 and October 26 disclosures, show approximately $664.1 million spent repurchasing STRC preferred shares between October 1 and October 25. The buybacks were intended to support the preferred security's trading profile and manage obligations associated with the company's funding structure.

Over the first three reporting weeks, Strategy acquired 851 BTC for around $72.3 million, in batches of 334, 250 and 267 BTC. It bought no additional Bitcoin from October 19 to 25, leaving holdings at 848,517 BTC. However, on November 2 the company disclosed another 811 BTC purchase over October 26–November 1. Because that reporting period crosses the month boundary, 851 BTC should not be described as the definitive tally of all purchases made during October.

The repurchases show preferred-share obligations becoming a distinct priority. They do not, by themselves, establish that Strategy had abandoned Bitcoin accumulation or was on the verge of failing to meet its debts.

Blast announced the shutdown of its Ethereum Layer 2

On October 2, the Blast team announced plans to wind down its Layer 2 network. Its central explanation was economic: the cost of running the chain exceeded revenue and management saw no credible path to a sustainable operation. Blast was created by Tieshun 'Pacman' Roquerre, who also founded the NFT marketplace Blur.

Blast held more than $2 billion in total value locked at its peak in 2024, compared with approximately $32 million when the closure was announced. CoinDesk reported that the network earned around $1,793 in user activity revenue in the preceding month, down from about $3.5 million at its June 2024 peak. Its BLAST token had also lost roughly 98% of its launch value.

Users were advised to migrate assets back to Ethereum. Withdrawals through Blast's regular interface were available until October 26; afterward, remaining users needed to interact directly with the bridge contracts. This was therefore not just a token-price story but an operational deadline for holders of assets on the chain.

Blur will close its website on November 12, but the contracts will remain

On October 12, Blur announced a planned shutdown of the NFT marketplace frontend on November 12, 2026. Its NFT lending service, Blend, will also stop arranging new loans on that date. Borrowers were asked to repay existing obligations or face default under their terms, with a separate withdrawal tool planned for remaining positions.

According to CoinDesk's marketplace data, Blur's monthly trading volume fell from around $1.43 billion in March 2023 to less than $7 million by March 2026, a drop of more than 99.5%. During its rise it held more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading. Yet closing a website does not delete the blockchain-based protocol: the smart contracts will remain on Ethereum, and BLUR token holders retain control of the marketplace fee switch.

The two wind-downs highlighted the limitations of businesses heavily dependent on short-lived incentives. Their explanations were not identical: Blast explicitly cited operating losses, while Blur had not published an equivalent official assessment of its profitability.

Ripple received final approval for a US national trust bank

On October 26, Ripple announced final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). The decision completed a process following conditional approval in December 2025 and laid the groundwork for federally supervised custody and reserve management.

The charter allows the institution to manage segregated reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, serve as collateral trustee for its holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody. But, as The Block explained, a national trust bank is not a full-service commercial bank: it does not take ordinary consumer deposits or extend loans.

RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Ripple's milestone was therefore the approval of specialized regulated infrastructure, not permission to provide every conventional banking service.

Solana activated Alpenglow, targeting 150-millisecond finality

On October 21, Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on mainnet, replacing TowerBFT, the validator voting system used since the blockchain launched in 2020. Alpenglow's first phase, Votor, changes the voting process and removes ordinary validator vote transactions from blocks.

Developer group Anza confirmed the transition at slot 459,653,000. Solana Foundation describes a target reduction in finality from approximately 12.8 seconds under TowerBFT to around 150 milliseconds. That target is a consensus design metric, not a promise that every exchange deposit or wallet interaction will complete in precisely 150 milliseconds.

A later phase, Rotor, is intended to replace Turbine for propagating blocks through the network. As of the end of October, no activation date had been set. Faster finality could benefit payments and exchange infrastructure, while actual user experience also depends on wallets, RPC providers and service-specific crediting policies.

Why October mattered for affiliate marketing

For media buyers and affiliate networks, the month's developments exposed several operational risks. Users of NFT platforms and Layer 2 networks need to monitor frontend shutdown dates, lending obligations and access to withdrawals. Stablecoin settlement requires clarity over the issuer, reserve manager and legal protections of the product. And for Solana payments, network-level finality must be distinguished from the time a specific payment provider actually credits a transaction.

October 2026 failed to live up to its 'Uptober' reputation. Bitcoin ended the month lower, while a new stock-index policy raised questions about the largest corporate Bitcoin holder's eligibility. Two projects founded by Tieshun Roquerre announced wind-downs, Ripple received a major US banking approval and Solana replaced its original consensus system. Here are the month's key developments, separating confirmed events from possible future consequences.

Bitcoin lost 7.22% in a second consecutive negative October

According to historical Binance BTC/USDT trading data, Bitcoin opened October near $83,624 and closed October 31 at approximately $77,582, a 7.22% decline. Its intramonth high reached $87,220 and its low was $76,326. October 2025 had also ended lower, by almost 4%, making this the second consecutive losing October.

The 'Uptober' nickname reflects the positive seasonality of many earlier Octobers, not a rule governing future performance. Late-month pressure intensified after Binance disclosed a major security incident on October 29. The exchange reported approximately $6.34 billion in impacted assets and partial freezes; the total amount affected should not automatically be equated with permanently unrecovered customer losses. The following sections focus on other developments across the sector.

MSCI adopted new eligibility rules for non-operating companies

On October 15, index provider MSCI published the outcome of its consultation on the eligibility of non-operating companies for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Under the revised methodology, issuers whose financial characteristics resemble investment vehicles rather than operating businesses may no longer qualify for inclusion.

The assessment starts with a screen for substantial operating assets. Companies failing that test face five additional financial-ratio screens, with ineligibility triggered by failure on at least four. Existing constituents receive additional buffers across reporting periods to avoid excessive index turnover.

Strategy and Metaplanet face potential deletion, not automatic removal

Earlier scenario analysis flagged Michael Saylor's Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potential exclusions. But MSCI's October 15 adoption of the methodology was not itself an immediate deletion of either stock. MSCI scheduled the final index review announcement for November 11, with the resulting changes effective after the market close on November 30, 2026.

The main concern is passive investment demand. Funds tracking an index may be required to sell securities removed from it, although actual outflows depend on fund holdings, implementation rules and the final deletion list. The first trading day after MSCI's announcement, Strategy shares closed down 9.56% at $136.83. The Nasdaq Composite also fell about 2.14%, so the entire stock decline should not be attributed solely to MSCI.

Strategy spent far more buying back STRC than acquiring Bitcoin

Strategy increasingly emphasized capital management. Its early-October filing, followed by October 12, October 19 and October 26 disclosures, show approximately $664.1 million spent repurchasing STRC preferred shares between October 1 and October 25. The buybacks were intended to support the preferred security's trading profile and manage obligations associated with the company's funding structure.

Over the first three reporting weeks, Strategy acquired 851 BTC for around $72.3 million, in batches of 334, 250 and 267 BTC. It bought no additional Bitcoin from October 19 to 25, leaving holdings at 848,517 BTC. However, on November 2 the company disclosed another 811 BTC purchase over October 26–November 1. Because that reporting period crosses the month boundary, 851 BTC should not be described as the definitive tally of all purchases made during October.

The repurchases show preferred-share obligations becoming a distinct priority. They do not, by themselves, establish that Strategy had abandoned Bitcoin accumulation or was on the verge of failing to meet its debts.

Blast announced the shutdown of its Ethereum Layer 2

On October 2, the Blast team announced plans to wind down its Layer 2 network. Its central explanation was economic: the cost of running the chain exceeded revenue and management saw no credible path to a sustainable operation. Blast was created by Tieshun 'Pacman' Roquerre, who also founded the NFT marketplace Blur.

Blast held more than $2 billion in total value locked at its peak in 2024, compared with approximately $32 million when the closure was announced. CoinDesk reported that the network earned around $1,793 in user activity revenue in the preceding month, down from about $3.5 million at its June 2024 peak. Its BLAST token had also lost roughly 98% of its launch value.

Users were advised to migrate assets back to Ethereum. Withdrawals through Blast's regular interface were available until October 26; afterward, remaining users needed to interact directly with the bridge contracts. This was therefore not just a token-price story but an operational deadline for holders of assets on the chain.

Blur will close its website on November 12, but the contracts will remain

On October 12, Blur announced a planned shutdown of the NFT marketplace frontend on November 12, 2026. Its NFT lending service, Blend, will also stop arranging new loans on that date. Borrowers were asked to repay existing obligations or face default under their terms, with a separate withdrawal tool planned for remaining positions.

According to CoinDesk's marketplace data, Blur's monthly trading volume fell from around $1.43 billion in March 2023 to less than $7 million by March 2026, a drop of more than 99.5%. During its rise it held more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading. Yet closing a website does not delete the blockchain-based protocol: the smart contracts will remain on Ethereum, and BLUR token holders retain control of the marketplace fee switch.

The two wind-downs highlighted the limitations of businesses heavily dependent on short-lived incentives. Their explanations were not identical: Blast explicitly cited operating losses, while Blur had not published an equivalent official assessment of its profitability.

Ripple received final approval for a US national trust bank

On October 26, Ripple announced final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). The decision completed a process following conditional approval in December 2025 and laid the groundwork for federally supervised custody and reserve management.

The charter allows the institution to manage segregated reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, serve as collateral trustee for its holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody. But, as The Block explained, a national trust bank is not a full-service commercial bank: it does not take ordinary consumer deposits or extend loans.

RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Ripple's milestone was therefore the approval of specialized regulated infrastructure, not permission to provide every conventional banking service.

Solana activated Alpenglow, targeting 150-millisecond finality

On October 21, Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on mainnet, replacing TowerBFT, the validator voting system used since the blockchain launched in 2020. Alpenglow's first phase, Votor, changes the voting process and removes ordinary validator vote transactions from blocks.

Developer group Anza confirmed the transition at slot 459,653,000. Solana Foundation describes a target reduction in finality from approximately 12.8 seconds under TowerBFT to around 150 milliseconds. That target is a consensus design metric, not a promise that every exchange deposit or wallet interaction will complete in precisely 150 milliseconds.

A later phase, Rotor, is intended to replace Turbine for propagating blocks through the network. As of the end of October, no activation date had been set. Faster finality could benefit payments and exchange infrastructure, while actual user experience also depends on wallets, RPC providers and service-specific crediting policies.

Why October mattered for affiliate marketing

For media buyers and affiliate networks, the month's developments exposed several operational risks. Users of NFT platforms and Layer 2 networks need to monitor frontend shutdown dates, lending obligations and access to withdrawals. Stablecoin settlement requires clarity over the issuer, reserve manager and legal protections of the product. And for Solana payments, network-level finality must be distinguished from the time a specific payment provider actually credits a transaction.

October 2026 failed to live up to its 'Uptober' reputation. Bitcoin ended the month lower, while a new stock-index policy raised questions about the largest corporate Bitcoin holder's eligibility. Two projects founded by Tieshun Roquerre announced wind-downs, Ripple received a major US banking approval and Solana replaced its original consensus system. Here are the month's key developments, separating confirmed events from possible future consequences.

Bitcoin lost 7.22% in a second consecutive negative October

According to historical Binance BTC/USDT trading data, Bitcoin opened October near $83,624 and closed October 31 at approximately $77,582, a 7.22% decline. Its intramonth high reached $87,220 and its low was $76,326. October 2025 had also ended lower, by almost 4%, making this the second consecutive losing October.

The 'Uptober' nickname reflects the positive seasonality of many earlier Octobers, not a rule governing future performance. Late-month pressure intensified after Binance disclosed a major security incident on October 29. The exchange reported approximately $6.34 billion in impacted assets and partial freezes; the total amount affected should not automatically be equated with permanently unrecovered customer losses. The following sections focus on other developments across the sector.

MSCI adopted new eligibility rules for non-operating companies

On October 15, index provider MSCI published the outcome of its consultation on the eligibility of non-operating companies for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Under the revised methodology, issuers whose financial characteristics resemble investment vehicles rather than operating businesses may no longer qualify for inclusion.

The assessment starts with a screen for substantial operating assets. Companies failing that test face five additional financial-ratio screens, with ineligibility triggered by failure on at least four. Existing constituents receive additional buffers across reporting periods to avoid excessive index turnover.

Strategy and Metaplanet face potential deletion, not automatic removal

Earlier scenario analysis flagged Michael Saylor's Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potential exclusions. But MSCI's October 15 adoption of the methodology was not itself an immediate deletion of either stock. MSCI scheduled the final index review announcement for November 11, with the resulting changes effective after the market close on November 30, 2026.

The main concern is passive investment demand. Funds tracking an index may be required to sell securities removed from it, although actual outflows depend on fund holdings, implementation rules and the final deletion list. The first trading day after MSCI's announcement, Strategy shares closed down 9.56% at $136.83. The Nasdaq Composite also fell about 2.14%, so the entire stock decline should not be attributed solely to MSCI.

Strategy spent far more buying back STRC than acquiring Bitcoin

Strategy increasingly emphasized capital management. Its early-October filing, followed by October 12, October 19 and October 26 disclosures, show approximately $664.1 million spent repurchasing STRC preferred shares between October 1 and October 25. The buybacks were intended to support the preferred security's trading profile and manage obligations associated with the company's funding structure.

Over the first three reporting weeks, Strategy acquired 851 BTC for around $72.3 million, in batches of 334, 250 and 267 BTC. It bought no additional Bitcoin from October 19 to 25, leaving holdings at 848,517 BTC. However, on November 2 the company disclosed another 811 BTC purchase over October 26–November 1. Because that reporting period crosses the month boundary, 851 BTC should not be described as the definitive tally of all purchases made during October.

The repurchases show preferred-share obligations becoming a distinct priority. They do not, by themselves, establish that Strategy had abandoned Bitcoin accumulation or was on the verge of failing to meet its debts.

Blast announced the shutdown of its Ethereum Layer 2

On October 2, the Blast team announced plans to wind down its Layer 2 network. Its central explanation was economic: the cost of running the chain exceeded revenue and management saw no credible path to a sustainable operation. Blast was created by Tieshun 'Pacman' Roquerre, who also founded the NFT marketplace Blur.

Blast held more than $2 billion in total value locked at its peak in 2024, compared with approximately $32 million when the closure was announced. CoinDesk reported that the network earned around $1,793 in user activity revenue in the preceding month, down from about $3.5 million at its June 2024 peak. Its BLAST token had also lost roughly 98% of its launch value.

Users were advised to migrate assets back to Ethereum. Withdrawals through Blast's regular interface were available until October 26; afterward, remaining users needed to interact directly with the bridge contracts. This was therefore not just a token-price story but an operational deadline for holders of assets on the chain.

Blur will close its website on November 12, but the contracts will remain

On October 12, Blur announced a planned shutdown of the NFT marketplace frontend on November 12, 2026. Its NFT lending service, Blend, will also stop arranging new loans on that date. Borrowers were asked to repay existing obligations or face default under their terms, with a separate withdrawal tool planned for remaining positions.

According to CoinDesk's marketplace data, Blur's monthly trading volume fell from around $1.43 billion in March 2023 to less than $7 million by March 2026, a drop of more than 99.5%. During its rise it held more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading. Yet closing a website does not delete the blockchain-based protocol: the smart contracts will remain on Ethereum, and BLUR token holders retain control of the marketplace fee switch.

The two wind-downs highlighted the limitations of businesses heavily dependent on short-lived incentives. Their explanations were not identical: Blast explicitly cited operating losses, while Blur had not published an equivalent official assessment of its profitability.

Ripple received final approval for a US national trust bank

On October 26, Ripple announced final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). The decision completed a process following conditional approval in December 2025 and laid the groundwork for federally supervised custody and reserve management.

The charter allows the institution to manage segregated reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, serve as collateral trustee for its holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody. But, as The Block explained, a national trust bank is not a full-service commercial bank: it does not take ordinary consumer deposits or extend loans.

RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Ripple's milestone was therefore the approval of specialized regulated infrastructure, not permission to provide every conventional banking service.

Solana activated Alpenglow, targeting 150-millisecond finality

On October 21, Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on mainnet, replacing TowerBFT, the validator voting system used since the blockchain launched in 2020. Alpenglow's first phase, Votor, changes the voting process and removes ordinary validator vote transactions from blocks.

Developer group Anza confirmed the transition at slot 459,653,000. Solana Foundation describes a target reduction in finality from approximately 12.8 seconds under TowerBFT to around 150 milliseconds. That target is a consensus design metric, not a promise that every exchange deposit or wallet interaction will complete in precisely 150 milliseconds.

A later phase, Rotor, is intended to replace Turbine for propagating blocks through the network. As of the end of October, no activation date had been set. Faster finality could benefit payments and exchange infrastructure, while actual user experience also depends on wallets, RPC providers and service-specific crediting policies.

Why October mattered for affiliate marketing

For media buyers and affiliate networks, the month's developments exposed several operational risks. Users of NFT platforms and Layer 2 networks need to monitor frontend shutdown dates, lending obligations and access to withdrawals. Stablecoin settlement requires clarity over the issuer, reserve manager and legal protections of the product. And for Solana payments, network-level finality must be distinguished from the time a specific payment provider actually credits a transaction.