The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Wednesday! Well, that didn't last very long. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs flipped back to negative flows on Tuesday with $243 million in redemptions, snapping a two-day positive streak that brought in nearly $1.2 billion to start 2026.
In today's newsletter, Ripple confirms it currently has no plans to go public, Flare launches XRP spot exposure on Hyperliquid, Morgan Stanley files for a spot Ethereum ETF just hours after its Bitcoin and Solana filings, and more.
Meanwhile, Tether-backed Rumble launches a crypto wallet, letting fans tip creators in BTC and USDT.
P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!
Ripple reaffirms no IPO plans, citing strong balance sheet and growth focus
Ripple reiterated its plans to remain private, with President Monica Long saying the company can fund growth internally without relying on public markets.
- In an interview with Bloomberg, Long said Ripple's balance sheet and liquidity remove the usual IPO incentive of accessing capital and investors, allowing the firm to stay focused on long-term private expansion.
- Ripple raised $500 million in November at a $40 billion valuation, drawing backing from major financial players including affiliates of Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities.
- Long described those fundraising terms as favorable to Ripple, while declining to say whether investor protections were required to secure participation or support the reported valuation.
- Ripple accelerated its growth strategy in 2025 with four acquisitions totaling nearly $4 billion, spanning prime brokerage, stablecoin payments, treasury management, and custody firms.
- The company is positioning itself as a full-stack enterprise digital asset provider, with Ripple Payments surpassing $95 billion in volume and its RLUSD stablecoin anchoring both payments and institutional products.
Flare launches first XRP spot exposure on Hyperliquid via FXRP
Flare Network listed FXRP on Hyperliquid on Wednesday, marking the first time spot XRP exposure is available on the DEX platform after previously being limited to perpetual futures.
- The launch introduces an FXRP/USDC spot pair, using a wrapped XRP structure to overcome the cryptocurrency's lack of EVM compatibility and prior non-custodial bridge constraints, Flare DeFi analyst Dhruv Shah told The Block.
- FXRP is a 1:1 wrapped representation of XRP issued via Flare's FAssets system and deployed as a LayerZero Omnichain Fungible Token, allowing cross-chain trading on Hyperliquid and redemption back to the XRP Ledger.
- The listing advances Flare's broader XRPFi strategy, aiming to position FXRP as the preferred DeFi representation of XRP, with plans to expand into lending, staking, and additional platforms over time.
JPMorgan brings JPM Coin to Canton, its second extension after launching on Base
JPMorgan is extending its bank-issued deposit token JPM Coin to the Canton Network, marking its second blockchain deployment after launching on Base in late 2025.
- The move positions JPM Coin as a bank-backed alternative to stablecoins for institutional clients, enabling near-instant, 24/7 dollar-denominated settlement on public yet privacy-configurable blockchain infrastructure.
- Canton, built by Digital Asset, has emerged as a hub for institutional tokenization experiments, with backing from major financial firms and pilots such as DTCC's tokenized U.S. Treasury initiative.
- JPMorgan's blockchain and digital payments division Kinexys plans a phased JPM Coin rollout through 2026, targeting onchain asset settlement and cross-border payments while exploring deeper integrations like blockchain-based deposit accounts.
Bitwise CIO flags three hurdles crypto must clear for a sustained 2026 rally
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said crypto's early-2026 rally can extend if markets avoid major blow-ups, advance U.S. legislation, and see stable equity conditions.
- Hougan said the first hurdle has already been cleared, after fears of forced liquidations faded following the Oct. 10 derivatives wipeout, helping investors put late-2025 systemic risk concerns behind them.
- The next key test is U.S. policy progress, with the Bitwise CIO pointing to the Clarity Act markup as a critical step toward locking pro-crypto rules into law.
- The final risk lies in equities, where Hougan said a sharp stock-market selloff could pressure crypto short-term, even as prediction markets signal low recession odds and supportive conditions overall.
Morgan Stanley widens crypto bet with proposed spot Ethereum ETF after Bitcoin and Solana filings
Morgan Stanley filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund, less than 24 hours after its Bitcoin and Solana ETF submissions.
- The proposed Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust would hold and track the price of ether while also seeking to generate rewards from staking a portion of the fund's holdings.
- The filings follow Morgan Stanley's broader moves into digital assets, including a recommended 4% allocation cap for certain portfolios and plans to expand crypto access across client accounts.
In the next 24 hours
- Eurozone PPI figures are due at 5 a.m. ET on Thursday. U.S. jobless claims numbers follow at 8:30 a.m.
- U.S. FOMC member Michelle Bowman will speak at 4:10 p.m.
- Aerodrome is among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
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