Ripple gains final OCC approval for national trust bank, and more

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

Happy Tuesday! Bitcoin has climbed back above $80,000 ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday.

In today's newsletter, Ripple secures final OCC approval for its national trust bank, BlackRock joins SBI and Startale in a tokenization push, Circle faces potential revenue risks from AI agents, and more.

Meanwhile, bitcoin mining firm Luxor raises $16 million to expand its AI business, and Canton-based trading platform Cancore gets $7.2 million in funding.

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.

Ripple gains final OCC approval for national trust bank

Ripple has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch a national trust bank. The bank will oversee reserves backing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and offer digital asset custody services to businesses.

• Ripple National Trust Bank can manage RLUSD's segregated reserves, serve as collateral trustee for stablecoin holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody services.
• RLUSD will still be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple's New York-regulated trust company. Ripple applied for the OCC charter in July 2025 and received conditional approval in December.
• Meanwhile, Circle received final OCC approval for its national trust bank in July, followed by BitGo in December 2025. Coinbase, Crypto.com and World Liberty Financial are among the firms that received conditional approvals this year.

BlackRock joins SBI and Startale to explore tokenized funds and yen stablecoins

BlackRock has signed an agreement with Japan's SBI Holdings and Startale Group to explore connecting tokenized money market funds with JPYSC, a Japanese yen stablecoin launched by SBI and Startale.

• The agreement covers technology and infrastructure, business and distribution, and regulation.
• BlackRock launched its BUIDL tokenized fund in 2024. The fund now manages around $2.17 billion in U.S. Treasurys, overnight repos and cash. SBI and Startale launched JPYSC in June.
• The companies said their proposed collaboration could also involve other financial institutions in Japan and abroad.

Circle faces up to 20% reserve revenue risk from AI agents, Mizuho says

Mizuho cut its Circle price target to $43 from $45, warning that AI assistants could steer people away from holding USDC.

• Mizuho's simulation found that AI agents, including Muse, may recommend higher-yielding, FDIC-insured savings accounts, such as those offered by SoFi, instead of holding USDC.
• Mizuho maintained its Underperform rating and estimated that wider AI adoption could put 10% to 20% of Circle's reserve revenue at risk over the medium term.
• The analysts estimated that USDC's market cap could fall by $4 billion to $9 billion under wider AI adoption. In one scenario, about $7 billion moves into fiat products and $2 billion into higher-yielding stablecoins, cutting Circle's reserve revenue by 18%.

Galaxy Digital returns to profit with $323 million in Q3 earnings

Galaxy Digital reported $323 million in net income for the third quarter, reversing an $85 million loss in the previous quarter.

• The company also announced another $200 million share buyback after completing its earlier repurchase program this month.
• Galaxy's digital asset trading volumes rose 12% from the second quarter, and its average loan book grew 27% to $1.8 billion. The company reported $569 million in adjusted gross profit and $455 million in adjusted EBITDA.
• Galaxy completed its previous $200 million buyback on Oct. 15 after repurchasing about 9.8 million shares. The newly authorized $200 million program has no fixed end date.

SoFi reports 503,000 crypto products and $162 million in gross crypto revenue

SoFi reported 503,000 crypto products at the end of September, disclosing the figure in its earnings for the first time. Gross crypto transaction revenue reached $161.6 million in the third quarter, up 20% from the previous quarter.

• After associated costs, SoFi's net crypto transaction revenue was just $1.6 million. The company reported record quarterly net revenue of $1.39 billion and net income of $241 million.
• SoFi resumed crypto services in November 2025 after a two-year pause, allowing customers to buy and hold tokens through accounts linked to its banking services. It has since expanded into stablecoins, tokenized deposits and crypto infrastructure.

In the next 24 hours

• The Fed's interest rate decision is due Wednesday, along with September trade balance in goods, wholesale inventories and retail inventories data.
• No major Eurozone economic events scheduled for Wednesday.
• Sign (SIGN), Stacks (STX), IOTA (IOTA) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) are among the tokens scheduled to unlock on Wednesday.

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