Plus: Nasdaq's investing in Gemini's IPO

GM. Congrats, you've unlocked a secret menu item! Spoiler: it's crypto news with extra pulp.

Here's the ingredient list:

🍍 PPI data.

🤔 CeFi + DeFi + AI = ?

🤝 Nasdaq's teaming up with Gemini.

👀 Ripple's gonna handle crypto custody for BBVA.

🍋 Uphold review, Belarus president encourages crypto use + more

🍍 Market flavor today

Crypto Market Cap: $3.95T 1.83% (24H)
Name		Price	24H	7D
	Bitcoin BTC	$113,777.30	1.73%	1.84%
	Ethereum ETH	$4,404.02	2.34%	-1.01%
	XRP XRP	$3.00	1.09%	4.85%
	BNB BNB	$901.35	3.03%	5.08%
	Solana SOL	$222.78	3.29%	5.52%

US PPI data dropped today, and here are the results:

Uhh, what does any of this mean? Glad you asked.

PPI tracks what businesses pay for goods and services before they reach consumers.

When those costs fall (like now), it means inflation pressures are cooling off earlier in the chain.

And since the "core" number - which cuts out food and energy - also dropped, it means the slowdown is broad, not just from a few volatile categories.

Add in the fact that the labor market is weakening, and the Fed now sees both lower inflation and a softer economy.

That combo makes a rate cut more likely (which is typically bullish for crypto).

The missing piece is CPI.

PPI is more of a preview, but CPI is the number the Fed (and markets) care about most when judging inflation.

👉 If it also comes in lower than expected, it strongly reinforces the case for a rate cut.

👉 If it comes in higher, it could complicates things.

We'll cover the CPI release tomorrow - until then, expect the market to stay on edge 👀

🚀 CeFi + DeFi + AI = Walbi

Ever wished your exchange had the brains of ChatGPT, the vibes of DeFi, and the convenience of CeFi - all in one?

That's Walbi. And lucky you, BitDegree dropped a Mission about it.

Missions are bite-sized, gamified adventures where you pick up Web3 skills and score rewards at the same time.

And this one? Oh, it's stacked:

🎁 2,000 Bits;

🎁 Up to 250 USDT rebate voucher;

🎁 A fat 5,000 USDT prize pool.

Deadline to join the fun: October 9.

So yeah... might wanna hop in before someone else gets your slice 😏

🥝 Memecoin harvest

It's another beautiful day in the meme economy. Here's what's printing 📈

Data as of 04:05 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

🤝 TradFi x crypto

I used to think solo trips were hella weird. Like, why would anyone want to wander 'round some unfamiliar place, lost, with no one to share the experience with? Lowkey depressing.

But then I had a point in my life where I needed an escape. And the idea of being alone somewhere new started to feel... kinda good? After enough overthinking, I was like, screw it, let's go.

And it turned out to be amazing. All the stuff that seemed weird before wasn't a problem at all. Instead, I found out how nice it is to travel without compromise: do what I want, when I want, meet new people if I feel like it, or just chill if I don't.

A lot of people go through this same pattern: first they reject something, then they think about it, hesitate, finally try it... and realize they actually like it.

I went through this pattern with solo trips - and TradFi's going through this journey with crypto.

Some banks and exchanges are still in the rejection stage, but plenty of others are past the hesitation part and have started testing the waters.

And we've got some spicy new updates on the latter group 😏

1/ Nasdaq 🤝 Gemini

Nasdaq - the US stock exchange giant - has partnered with Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins.

(This is from a Reuters report, which itself is based on "people familiar with the matter" - aka could just be Brian from HR who had a dream about it. But we ball.)

As we've recently covered, Gemini's going public this Friday - and Nasdaq has apparently agreed to invest $50M in the IPO.

And that's not all.

The partnership also means Nasdaq's clients will get access to Gemini's custody and staking services.

That's huge, because it gives crypto exposure to the biggest possible pool of capital on Wall Street. Even a tiny allocation from those funds could mean billions flowing into the crypto market.

On top of that, Gemini's institutional clients will be able to use Nasdaq's Calypso platform to manage and track their crypto collateral.

👉 Right now, if a bank or hedge fund buys crypto through Gemini, they can't easily manage it with the same systems they use for stocks or bonds - that happens in a separate platform. Which isn't convenient, so a lot of firms choose to avoid it altogether.

👉 With Calypso, however, those crypto positions show up in the same dashboard they already use for traditional assets. Big deal for adoption!

2/ BBVA 🤝 Ripple

BBVA recently launched a service in Spain that lets retail customers buy and store Bitcoin and Ether directly through their bank.

And to power the service, they chose none other than Ripple Custody - Ripple's system built for institutions.

Which is big not only for Ripple, but for the crypto industry in general.

BBVA is one of Spain's largest banks. By giving customers the option to hold crypto inside their bank app, they're showing that custody is becoming a must-have service for modern banks - the same way online banking or mobile apps became unavoidable.

Kinda funny how this works, right?

Once you stop resisting and give it a shot, the weird parts fade and the perks become obvious.

Banks and exchanges are basically packing their bags for their trip now... and chances are, once they go, they won't want to come back 😏

🍋 News drops you can't miss

🤔 Curious about Uphold? We tried it so you don't have to guess - here's our review.

🇧🇾 Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told banks to step up their use of crypto. He also urged lawmakers to set clear rules as the economy struggles under EU and US sanctions.

🚀 Cboe Global Markets plans to launch a new type of Bitcoin and Ethereum futures called "continuous futures." They're set to debut on November 10.

👀 Washington, DC, is suing Athena Bitcoin, the crypto ATM operator, for hidden fees and poor fraud protection. Officials say ~93% of its transactions were tied to scams.

🏦 Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said banks wouldn't worry as much about crypto if they gave better returns on deposits. He argued banks pay too little for customer funds, leaving them vulnerable to fairer alternatives in digital assets.

🍌 Juicy memes