Aviva Investors and Ripple launch tokenized share class of $29 billion fund on XRP Ledger, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Monday! Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000, while concerns over AI spending, rising oil prices, and the upcoming Fed meeting weigh on crypto markets.

In today's newsletter, Aviva Investors and Ripple launch a tokenized share class of a $29 billion sterling fund on XRP Ledger, Kraken parent Payward becomes the first CFTC-regulated HIP-3 deployer on Hyperliquid, Strive buys $511 million worth of bitcoin, and more.

Meanwhile, Strategy pauses bitcoin purchases, and Bitmine adds another 10,452 ETH to its treasury.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Latent, our sister website covering AI. Get The Latent Daily here and all other The Block newsletters here. Also, follow The Block and The Latent on X for more updates.

Aviva Investors and Ripple launch tokenized share class of $29 billion fund

Aviva Investors has launched a tokenized share class of its £22 billion ($29.4 billion) Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, working with Ripple. The asset manager invested £50 million ($66.7 million) in the new offering.

• Aviva now has more than £86 million ($114.8 million) invested across two tokenized money market fund offerings, including a U.S. dollar fund launched in July.
• The Sterling Liquidity Fund invests in high-grade, short-term debt denominated in pounds and allows investors to access their money daily.
• Under the fund's "digital twin" model, investors' holdings are recorded onchain, while the fund itself continues to operate offchain.
• Investors need an eligible digital wallet to access the new share class. BNY Mellon holds the fund's assets, with Komainu and Licuido also supporting the launch.

Hyperliquid names Kraken parent Payward as first planned regulated HIP-3 deployer

Hyperliquid said Kraken parent Payward is intended to become the first CFTC-regulated deployer on its HIP-3 markets, a move that could bring perpetual futures trading on the platform to U.S. users. The plan still needs regulatory approval.

• Payward's CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse, Bitnomial, would deploy the markets, while NinjaTrader Clearing would handle customer accounts.
• Hyperliquid is working on an onchain allowlist feature for HIP-3 markets, which would let deployers decide who can trade. The feature is being tested.
• Payward first announced the plans in September. Details about identity checks and trading restrictions have not yet been disclosed.

Strive buys $511 million in bitcoin, bringing holdings to 43,000 BTC

Bitcoin treasury company Strive bought another 6,182 BTC worth about $511 million between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23, bringing its total holdings to 43,000 BTC.

• The company is now close to overtaking Twenty One and Metaplanet to become the second-largest public corporate bitcoin holder.
• Strive ranks fourth among public bitcoin holders, behind Strategy's 848,517 BTC, Metaplanet's 44,000 BTC and Twenty One's 43,514 BTC.
• Strive CEO Matt Cole has set a goal of making the company the second-largest public bitcoin holder by year-end.
• Strive also announced plans to sell up to $1 billion of its SATS preferred shares. The company may use the proceeds to buy more bitcoin and cover other expenses.

Galaxy says bitcoin bear market is over, sees buying opportunity

Galaxy Research said bitcoin's bear market ended in June and that now is the time to buy and hold. The firm cited bitcoin's recovery above its 50-week moving average and a slowdown in selling by long-term holders.

• Bitcoin closed above its 50-week moving average for five consecutive weeks through Oct. 18, after spending 44 weeks below it, according to Galaxy's Alex Thorn.
• Bitcoin held in wallets inactive for at least five years moved at an average rate of 34,000 BTC per month this year, compared with 47,000 BTC in 2025 and 67,000 BTC in 2024.
• Thorn also cited rising U.S. debt as a reason to hold bitcoin. He said a weekly close below $76,540, without a move back above that level within a month, would challenge Galaxy's outlook.

Y Combinator-backed Mochatrade raises $5.5 million

Mochatrade has raised $5.56 million in total funding to offer perpetual futures tied to U.S. stocks to Indian traders. CoinFund led the seed round, with Coinbase Ventures also participating.

• Y Combinator and Pioneer Fund backed the $690,000 pre-seed round. Both the pre-seed and seed rounds were structured as SAFEs.
• Mochatrade is currently in beta, with more than 20,000 people on its waitlist, and plans to launch publicly in the coming weeks.

In the next 24 hours

• The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting begins Tuesday, with September durable goods orders and new home sales, August home price data and October consumer confidence figures also due.
• Eurozone September bank lending and M3 money supply data are due Tuesday, along with a speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde.
• No major token unlocks scheduled for Tuesday.

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