XRP leveraged ETFs Surge, Signaling Shift in Crypto Investment Strategies

Cryptocurrency

Summary:

XRP's evolving ecosystem reflects a maturing market with diverse participation driving liquidity and depth.

Investor appetite for XRP is widening as traders seek new ways to increase exposure beyond spot holdings.

The rise of XRP-focused leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) illustrates this trend, revealing how participants supplement traditional accumulation with higher-risk, higher-reward strategies.

Leveraged XRP ETFs

On Oct. 7, GraniteShares, a leading ETP issuer, filed to launch two XRP-based leveraged funds, including the GraniteShares 3x Long XRP Daily ETF and the GraniteShares 3x Short XRP Daily ETF. The firm also filed for leveraged products focused on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

These funds aim to triple XRP’s daily gains or losses, providing traders with a regulated and liquid means of adjusting exposure without relying on perpetual futures markets.

Their entry follows the success of Teucrium’s XXRP ETF, which recently surpassed $400 million in total net assets within six months of its debut.

Similarly, ProShares’ Ultra XRP ETF (UXRP)—designed to deliver twice the daily performance of XRP/USD—has gathered more than $100 million in assets.

Together, these leveraged ETFs now manage over $500 million, an impressive figure for funds launched less than a year ago and ahead of any approved spot counterpart.

While leveraged ETFs carry inherent risks such as volatility decay from daily resets, their rapid growth underscores unmet demand for flexible, regulated tools that connect crypto’s speculative energy with traditional financial infrastructure.

Considering this, Jeff Park, an advisor to asset management firm Bitwise, explained that:

“It [is] intuitive to understand the impact leveraged ETFs have on a stock. Their constant leverage target effectively creates a buy-high, sell-low trading pattern as the underlying price fluctuates. In essence, they are reflexively long on autocorrelation.”

XRP derivatives growth

Meanwhile, this surge in XRP leveraged products parallels a broader increase in the digital asset’s derivatives activity.

Data from Coinglass shows that open interest in XRP futures has increased to approximately $9 billion, with average volumes remaining above $7 billion since early October.

The data indicate that both institutional and speculative capital are expanding exposure through multiple channels rather than shifting away from spot markets. The rising demand is evidence of a maturing market structure.

Spot accumulation anchors long-term investor confidence, while leveraged ETFs cater to short-term tactical positioning ahead of potential catalysts such as spot ETF approvals once regulatory reviews resume after the US government shutdown.

Overall, XRP’s evolving market now reflects multiple layers of participation from spot holders, futures traders, and leveraged ETF investors. Together, these groups are shaping a more liquid and diversified ecosystem where market depth and participation breadth matter as much as the speculative activities of the years past.

Source: Cryptoslate

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

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Manuel

Commodity

Oil rose to the highest in a week after a government report showed a decline in domestic product stockpiles, while strength in broader markets supported crude prices.

West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.3% to trade above $62 a barrel, aided by gains in US equities. The Energy Information Administration reported a 763,000-barrel weekly drop at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma, as well as lower oil-product holdings across the board. US distillate stocks, in particular, saw the largest decline since late June. Oil Climbs as US Product Stockpiles Drop and Equities Advance_1

Oil Climbs as US Product Stockpiles Drop and Equities Advance_1

Price gains are still capped by the outlook for ample global supplies, with OPEC+ ramping up production and the US forecasting record domestic output this year. Russian exports are also close to a 16-month high as Ukrainian drone strikes against refineries cut domestic processing.

“The disconnect continues between paper pricing and the predicted glut in global balances,” said Keshav Lohiya, founder of consultant Oilytics. “We are back to an oil trading world where flat price is firmly in the $65 to $70 world.”

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reaffirmed its bearish outlook on oil, saying the global market faces an average daily surplus of about 2 million barrels from this quarter through next year. That will drag prices lower, with Brent expected to average $56 a barrel in 2026, analysts including Yulia Grigsby said in a note.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil Corp. signed agreements that lay the groundwork for it to explore Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field, ending the company’s near two-year hiatus in the country.

Source: Bloomberg

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

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Adam

Cryptocurrency

A race by crypto companies to sell tokens pegged to stocks is raising alarm bells among traditional financial firms and regulatory experts who warn that the fast-growing novel products pose risks to investors and market stability.

Buoyed by President Donald Trump's pro-crypto stance and his administration's push for friendly regulations, the crypto industry is rushing to capitalize on a global surge in enthusiasm for the sector.

Robinhood (HOOD.O), Gemini (GEMI.O) and Kraken among others have launched tokenized stocks in Europe, while Coinbase (COIN.O), Robinhood and startup Dinari are seeking approval to launch similar products in the United States. Nasdaq, meanwhile, last month became the first major exchange to propose offering tokenized shares.

The industry says tokenized shares — blockchain-based instruments that track traditional equities — could revolutionize stock markets by allowing shares to be traded 24/7 and settled instantly, boosting liquidity and reducing transaction costs. The combined value of tokenized public stocks geared toward retail investors as of September grew to $412 million, compared with just a few million dollars 12 months ago, according to tokenization tracker RWA.xyz.

Although many products are marketed like stocks, they rarely offer the same rights, disclosures and protections as traditional equities. Instead, they more closely resemble riskier derivatives, according to a Reuters review of several products and interviews with a dozen industry executives and legal experts. That increases the hazards for investors, while tokenization more broadly could undermine market integrity and fragment liquidity if left unsupervised, critics say.

"You're buying exposures to those shares through creating some sort of synthetic instrument," said Diego Ballon Ossio, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance in London. "A lot of the burden gets shifted on you to understand what exactly it is that you're buying."

A few companies have issued their own experimental stock tokens on the blockchain - software that acts as a shared digital ledger - but most tokenized shares are pegged to public companies and issued by third parties like Ondo Global Markets and Dinari. Some tokens are backed 1:1 by underlying stocks, while others provide economic exposure through derivatives.

The industry is divided over which regulations apply to stock tokens, and investor rights and protections vary. Often, the products provide no ownership, voting rights or traditional dividends, while creating counterparty risk exposure to the token issuer.

For example, there are multiple tokens pegged to Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O) with a range of structures and terms and conditions.

"The fact that different tokenized offerings have different rights and different disclosures ... that's a real big worry," said Gabriel Otte, CEO of Dinari, which offers 1:1 collateralization.

Robinhood in June launched trading in tokens pegged to public companies and said it plans to offer tokenized stocks of private companies. To promote the launch, it gave away tokens pegged to OpenAI. Those tokens are derivative contracts backed by Robinhood's ownership of fund units in a special-purpose vehicle that holds OpenAI convertible notes, according to its terms and conditions.

The announcement drew pushback from OpenAI, which said it had not blessed the offering. It also prompted scrutiny from Robinhood's European regulator.

Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, said the company clearly flags that its tokens are derivatives.

"It's just one step forward to be able to have the benefits of no longer having multiple days to settle," he added.

While Robinhood is issuing public company tokens on the blockchain, it is not yet settling the trades on the blockchain, a spokesperson said.

Gemini declined to comment.

CORE INVESTOR PROTECTIONS

In Europe, Robinhood, Kraken and others operate under the "MiFID" derivatives rules but some legal experts say that law is insufficient to oversee the novel products. Trump's crypto-friendly chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, has indicated the agency plans to grant would-be issuers exemptions from securities rules.

That plan is facing opposition from powerful Wall Street players including Citadel Securities and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which say such major structural changes should go through a formal rulemaking process.

"Just because a security is represented on blockchain, that doesn't change the core investor protections and other provisions that apply to securities," said Peter Ryan, head of international capital markets at SIFMA.

In a July letter to the SEC, Citadel Securities raised concerns that tokenization would siphon liquidity away from public markets.

Spokespeople for the SEC declined to comment, while Citadel Securities did not provide comment beyond the letter.

A spokesperson for the European Securities and Markets Authority, which helps oversee MiFID, said it was aware of the potential risks of tokenization and was monitoring developments.

The World Federation of Exchanges recently urged regulators to crack down on tokenization, citing insufficient investor protections and liquidity fragmentation, although the group told Reuters it supports Nasdaq's proposal because it would treat tokens like traditional stocks.

Coinbase is also in talks with the SEC about launching tokenized securities that would similarly grant investors the full legal rights and benefits associated with conventional stocks, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Other issuers said they hew closely to traditional securities, anti-money laundering, bankruptcy protections and other rules.

Mark Greenberg, Kraken's global head of consumer, said the company offered the "gold standard" including 1:1 collateralization and investor disclosures, while dismissing derivative offerings as "IOUs."

"Done right, tokenization enhances investor protections, rather than eroding them," said Ian De Bode, chief strategy officer at Ondo Finance.

Source: reuters

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Adam

Forex

Commodity

A new wave of an unusual trade has been unfolding: A steep rally in Gold, coinciding with a steep rally in the US Dollar.

Today’s piece will focus on the latter, but it is still an interesting subject that marks an essential functioning of markets: It’s all about what is priced in (and what is not).

You have probably seen the headlines, but Gold officially breached the $4,000 milestone overnight, propelled by a larger RBNZ Rate cut, weakening the Kiwi dollar and trouble in Japanese and European (French) politics.

A US Government Shutdown is also in the works. But wait, why is the Greenback also rallying?

Mentioned after the FOMC September press conference, a less dovish than expected FED with, despite weakening, still strong US Data is forcing a slower rate cut path ahead, providing a floor to the USD.

Also, US Dollar bearishness had been such a prominent theme throughout the first half of 2025 that things couldn’t get much worse except for an unpleasant tariff outcome and degrading diplomatic US relations.

A bad-looking Government deficit is also priced, but this is not just US-specific, and it is one of the core reasons why Gold loves this trend so much.

Hence, as these themes play out and things actually degrade elsewhere, relative strength comes in. And it is here that the US Dollar wins in the current picture.

Let's explore this in a Dollar Index technical review.

Dollar Index (DXY) Multi-timeframe technical analysis

Daily Chart

Dollar Index (DXY) Daily Chart, October 8, 2025

The USD is attempting to break above the topline containing breakout attempts since early May 2025.

Fundamentals have changed a bit since: Tariffs are well-implemented, but they're not as harsh as they could have been on the economy.

So, the Economy is still fairly strong, hence less cuts are needed (and rates are still above 4%!).

This, combined with a daily double bottom at the yearly support, led to a strong technical bounce above the flat-lined 50-Day MA. With Momentum turning positive, a breakout could come into play.

Keep an eye on the Topline: A close above would confirm this outcome, while a rejection points to further sideways action.

4H Chart and levels

Dollar Index (DXY) 4H Chart, October 8, 2025

Zooming closer, we see Dollar bulls attempting to break the May topline, with the steep rally that started this week stalling a bit.

Nonetheless, the 4H MA 50 is starting to tilt upwards to catch up with prices and may cross above the flat MA 200, a bullish sign.

One thing to consider however is: How far could such a rally go with the current fundamentals?

A breakout in the US Dollar could point towards the 100.00 level, but cuts are still priced in for 2026, and the labor market is slowing.

This is why such a breakout would be more favorable for a repricing between 98.00 to 100.00 rather than a full return above the threshold. Of course, things may change as prices reach these levels and bulls still have to push higher.

Support Levels:

August highs, Immediate pivot around 98.50

98.00 Support

August Range support 97.25 to 97.60

2025 Lows Major support 96.50 to 97.00

Resistance Levels:

session highs and May topline 98.99

99.40 June selling pivot

100.00 Main resistance zone

1H Chart

Dollar Index (DXY) 1H Chart, October 8, 2025

Buyers will have to break above the daily highs at 98.99 (a close above 99.00 may attract further attention).

On the other hand, sellers will want to defend that exact same level and push prices below the post-FOMC Sep 25 highs at 98.60 to retake the short-term advantage.

A short-term upward channel is also forming, watch for its support and resistance levels.

Source: marketpulse

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

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Adam

Economic

Foreigners added just over $26 billion to their emerging markets debt and equity portfolios in September, the lowest since May, with the largest outflow from Chinese stocks since November, signaling investor apprehension toward EMs, according to a report from a banking trade group.

The net $26.2 billion inflow for last month compares with a $47.1 billion net inflow in August and $63.5 billion in September 2024, according to data from the Institute of International Finance.

The data showed a break away from China, as debt from EMs excluding China took in $35.1 billion, the most since February, while Chinese debt posted its first net monthly outflow since January. Chinese equities had their largest outflow since November.

Investors have grown more selective amid tight valuations and China’s renewed weakness, the IIF said. It said sovereign issuance surged to $50 billion in September, led by Mexico, putting the year on track to surpass the 2020 issuance record. Yet most issuance comes from higher-grade issuers and the lower tiers struggle for market access.

Emerging market portfolio inflows drop to $26 billion, lowest level since May, IIF says_1

Portfolio flows to EM x-China and China by asset class

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates in mid-September for the first time this year, and Wall Street is split on whether it will cut again in both of its two remaining meetings this year, or only in one. Meanwhile, the tariffs and trade war, alongside the war in Ukraine and developments in Gaza, continue to weigh on sentiment.

Bonds continue to attract cash on strong fundamentals and high real interest rates, but the boost from U.S. rate cuts is fading and investors are growing more cautious. There are renewed outflows in stocks, especially in China, and performance now varies more across regions: Latin America is holding up, while Asia and Eastern Europe are slowing.

“With global macro conditions still fragile and geopolitical risks unresolved, EM portfolio flows are likely to remain positive, but increasingly concentrated and conditional,” Jonathan Fortun, a senior economist at the IIF, said in a statement.

Regionally, emerging Asia took in almost $14 billion net last month and Latam followed with $8.2 billion. Africa and the Middle East funneled a net $2.6 billion and emerging Europe lagged with a $1.4 billion inflow.

Source: reuters

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

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Adam

Stocks

On Oct. 6, the stock market rendered a clear and stunning verdict on the future of Advanced Micro Devices. In a single session, AMD’s stock price jumped by over 23% to close at $203.71, adding more than $60 billion to its market capitalization.

This monumental move was not based on speculation; it was fueled by an extraordinary trading volume of over 247 million shares, nearly six times the daily average. The catalyst was a landmark announcement: a multi-year, strategic partnership with OpenAI, a development that fundamentally redraws the map of the entire artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

Inside the Multi-Billion Dollar Handshake

The agreement between AMD and OpenAI is a huge sales win for AMD, but it also represents more than that; it is a deep, multi-generational collaboration poised to power the next wave of AI innovation. For investors, the specific terms of the deal reveal its immense scale and strategic depth.

Unprecedented Scale: The partnership requires OpenAI to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD GPU computing power. This is a substantial infrastructure commitment designed to train and run the world’s most advanced AI models.

Perspective: Let’s do a back-of-the-envelope calculation. If we assume (based on standard configurations) that the GPUs account for roughly 75-80% of the total IT power load in these energy-dense systems, that would be approximately 4.5 to 4.8 gigawatts dedicated solely to the GPUs. AMD’s current MI450 chip is estimated to draw roughly 1,200 watts, equivalent to approximately 3.75 million GPUs.

Next-Generation Technology: The initial 1-gigawatt deployment will utilize AMD’s next-generation Instinct MI450 Series GPUs, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026. This signals profound confidence not just in AMD’s current products, but in its future roadmap.

Transformative Financials: AMD projects the deal will generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue over its lifetime. Crucially, the company also stated the partnership will be highly accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS), signaling a direct and significant boost to future profitability.

A Vested Partner: To cement the alliance, AMD issued a warrant allowing OpenAI to acquire up to 160 million AMD shares. Vesting is tied to purchasing milestones and ambitious share-price targets, a structure that effectively turns OpenAI into a long-term partner with a vested financial interest in AMD’s success.

AMD’s Bedrock of Success: More Than Just an AI Story

The OpenAI deal did not happen in a vacuum. It was won by a company already demonstrating exceptional execution and financial strength across its core businesses. According to its second-quarter 2025 earnings report, AMD’s fundamental health provided the foundation for this leap into the AI stratosphere. The Client and Gaming segment delivered a stunning 69% year-over-year revenue increase, driven by record sales of the company’s new Zen 5 Ryzen processors.

Even more critically, in the highly competitive data center market, AMD has been making relentless gains. The company has now achieved 33 consecutive quarters of server market share gains with its EPYC processors, steadily eroding its primary rival, Intel. This consistent performance has translated into strong financial results, including a record $1.2 billion in free cash flow in the second quarter, which demonstrates operational excellence and provides the capital to invest aggressively in future technologies.

Why This Deal Changes the Game

The partnership’s true significance extends far beyond direct revenue. It strategically solves AMD’s biggest challenges in the AI market. For years, NVIDIA’s dominance has been protected by its mature CUDA software platform. By committing to a deep, co-engineering partnership, OpenAI has provided the ultimate validation for AMD’s ROCm software, signaling to the entire market that it is ready for the most demanding workloads at the largest scale.

Furthermore, the deal officially establishes AMD as the essential second source for high-performance GPUs. The AI industry’s immense growth has created an urgent need for supply chain diversification. With this agreement, AMD is no longer a potential alternative to NVIDIA; it is a proven, de-risked, at-scale supplier. This move effectively shifts the market dynamic from a near-monopoly to a competitive duopoly, unlocking countless new opportunities for AMD with other hyperscalers and large enterprises.

Analysts Race to Catch Up

The financial community’s response was swift and decisive, reflecting a fundamental re-evaluation of AMD’s long-term value. Analysts, who had just weeks ago been debating near-term headwinds, rushed to upgrade their forecasts.

Following the announcement, several top-tier firms significantly increased their price targets, indicating a bullish outlook. These included Barclays and Jefferies (both at $300), Benchmark (at $270), and Morgan Stanley ($246).

This rapid upward revision shows a new consensus: AMD now has a clear and credible path to capturing a significant share of the AI market.

The company’s latest market capitalization, now soaring past $330 billion, reflects this recalculated potential for long-term earnings growth, a potential now backed by a tangible, multi-billion-dollar pipeline.

From Validation to Execution

The OpenAI partnership is a transformational event that validates AMD’s technology, secures a massive revenue stream, and solidifies its role as a key architect of the AI future. The investment thesis has undergone a fundamental shift.

The question is no longer if AMD can compete at the highest levels of AI, but rather how successfully it will execute on this monumental opportunity. For investors, this marks the beginning of a new chapter where AMD stands not just as a challenger but as a co-leader in the new era of computing.

Source: investing

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Manuel

Central Bank

Economic

Most members of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month's meeting, released Wednesday, showed.

A majority of Fed officials felt that the risk that unemployment would rise had worsened since their previous meeting in July, while the risk of rising inflation “had either diminished or not increased,” the minutes said. As a result, the central bank decided at its Sept. 16-17 meeting to reduce its key rate by a quarter-point, its first cut this year, to about 4.1%.

Rate cuts by the Fed can lower borrowing costs, over time, for things like mortgages, auto loans, and business loans, encouraging more spending, growth and hiring.

Still, the minutes underscored the deep division on the 19-person committee between those who feel that the Fed's short-term rate is too high and weighing on the economy, and those who point to persistent inflation that remains above the central bank's 2% target as evidence that the Fed needs to be cautious about reducing rates.

Only one official formally dissented from the quarter-point cut: Stephen Miran, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and was approved by the Senate just hours before the meeting began. He supported a larger, half-point cut instead.

But the minutes noted that “a few” policymakers said they could have supported keeping rates unchanged, or said that “there was merit” in such a step.

The differences help explain Chair Jerome Powell’s statements during the news conference that followed the meeting: “There are no risk-free paths now. It’s not incredibly obvious what to do.”

Miran said in remarks Tuesday that he thinks inflation will steadily decline back toward the Fed’s 2% target, despite Trump’s tariffs, and as a result he doesn’t think the Fed’s rate needs to be nearly as high as it is. Rental costs are steadily declining and will bring down inflation, he said, while tariff revenue will reduce the government’s budget deficit and reduce longer-term interest rates, which gives the Fed more room to cut.

The minutes provide insight into how the Fed's policymakers were thinking last month about inflation, interest rates, and hiring. Since then, however, the federal government shutdown has cut off the flow of economic data that the Fed relies on to inform its decisions. The September jobs report wasn't issued as scheduled last Friday, and if the shutdown continues, it could also delay the release of the inflation report set for next Wednesday.