$PLUME ( ▲ 5.94% ) launched its nBND vault on October 5, giving allocators on-chain exposure to Fidelity’s Total Bond ETF ($FBND ( ▼ 0.05% )) as its primary reserve asset. That expands the menu into actively managed bonds, with exposure spanning investment-grade debt, high-yield securities, and emerging markets - not just treasuries.

On-chain fixed income has leaned heavily on short-duration Treasuries and money market products. Earn interest, keep duration short, give digital dollars something productive to do. But building a financial market takes more than stocking the same Treasury bill in twelve different wrappers. Plume is adding a broader bond portfolio.

That brings more choices. Bond prices can fall when rates rise, even with a blockchain attached. The useful development here is portfolio construction: investors gaining access to different types of exposure through on-chain infrastructure. If the yield battles continue into full on yield wars, expect to see more of this kind of stuff pop up. 🧠

$EIGEN ( ▲ 1.34% ) and $ZEC ( ▲ 0.01% ) organization Shielded Labs launched HashSmash today, inviting participants to create ninja assassin AI agents to attack four cryptographic hash functions: SHA-256, SHA-3, BLAKE3, and Poseidon. The idea is to find weaknesses before somebody with worse intentions does. Basically a technical way to say “please attack us.”

HashSmash tests whether AI can advance attacks against their underlying mathematics. Discovering a weakness publicly gives researchers something to investigate and defenders a chance to respond. Discovering it through an adversary tends to involve a less pleasant meeting.

Submissions must explain what an attack defeats and how much computing power it requires. An AI verifier checks first, followed by expert cryptographers. Confidence alone won’t get the homework accepted.

For Shielded Labs, this supports Epoch, its project addressing threats from AI, quantum computing, hackers, and adversarial governments. Private money needs ongoing security work. Inviting people to challenge the foundations now is cheaper than learning about the problem from someone already standing inside. Hooray for white hat bounties. 💸

BitcoinIRA gives you access to 100+ cryptocurrencies, one-click crypto bundles, and staking rewards on select assets - all inside a self-directed crypto IRA.

^{*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.}

There’s money worth inspecting in DeFi now. 😲

S&P (the ratings guys) says vault deposits reached $10 billion in September, up from $1.5 billion two years earlier. These vehicles pool investor funds and deploy them through blockchain lending strategies. A growing pile of money tends to improve Wall Street’s eyesight.

The new Vault Risk Assessments examine credit exposure, liquidity mismatch, blockchain and protocol risks, security, governance, and the curator directing allocations. Useful questions. Where does the money go? Can investors get it back? Is the person managing it competent, or just unusually good at posting yield screenshots?

Then comes the familiar alphabet: AAA(v) represents the lowest assessed risk. S&P explicitly says these are not credit ratings, guarantees, or opinions on yield. Initial vault assessments will follow in future announcements. For now, we have the framework. 🛍

Speaking of Zcash, Zcash’s NU7 upgrade is slated for on/around November 5, cutting block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. But the detail(s) deserving your attention: old Sprout funds would lose their normal spending route once it activates. ✔

Anyone else remember when it look literally several days for $ZEC ( ▲ 0.01% ) to settle? Like, before 2020 wait times were just insane. 🦀

Written by yours truly. Super data heavy. Right up your alley. 👀

It’s once a week, on Mondays. Let me know what you think! 👇

🤖 A Delivery Robot Asks For Proof You’re Human

peaqOS now integrates World ID so machines can check that a recipient is a unique, intended human without receiving personal details. A prescription-delivery robot in Seoul demonstrated the flow, and the proof feature is live on robotic.sh for builders. The robot gets a yes or no; it does not need your life story to open a compartment. Worldcoin.

💵 Kava Bets AI Agents Will Pay In Native USDT

Kava says that autonomous agents will favor stablecoins for small, frequent payments and that native USDT on its EVM chain puts it in the running. Agent tooling is on its roadmap, with multi-step USDT transactions the stated target. But Kava hodlers probably want less thought leadership and more Kava numbers going up. Kava.

🏛️ Tezos’ August 2026 Update

Anchorage Digital added institutional custody for Etherlink assets in September, including tokenized uranium xU3O8 and six other tokens. The month also brought the experimental Quantumnet post-quantum testnet and Octez 25.2 security work. A bank custody account for uranium is the sort of sentence that would have cleared a room 10 years ago. Tezos.

⏰ Ronin Waypoint Wallets Get an October 16 Deadline

Waypoint is being retired, and assets left in its keyless or social login wallets may become inaccessible after October 16. Holders must move funds to Ronin Stash or a seed phrase wallet; bAXS and badges need a separate migration that can be done once. Check any old social login wallet now, since the transfer will not happen automatically. Axie Infinity.

🎃 Decentraland Turns October into Halloweeks

Decentraland’s Halloweeks runs October 5 through November 2 with free horror screenings, haunted Genesis Plaza quests and an October 27 party. Creators can submit wearables October 12–26 for six 5,000 MANA prizes, with winners named the next day. Even the virtual pumpkin patch has a submission deadline and a judging schedule. Decentraland.

🔧 GalaSwap V2 Won’t Move Your Liquidity for You

V2 pools are coming to GalaSwap with faster performance and improved APIs, while pairs and fee structures carry over. LP positions will not: providers must withdraw from V1 and deposit into V2, paying standard GalaChain transaction fees. V1 pools eventually become withdrawal-only, and liquidity left there will stop earning trading fees. Gala Games.

🧮 Astar Fi Manages Your Wallet Without Needing ASTR

Astar Fi’s public beta brings Ethereum and Base holdings into one net worth view, with curated yield vaults and tokenized assets on the same screen. Users keep custody and approve actions from their wallets. Despite the name, it neither runs on Astar Network nor requires ASTR - a clarification its FAQ had to put in writing. Astar.

🇨🇭 Curve Lets Swiss Franc Savings Back Dollar Loans

Curve’s new Llamalend market accepts yield-bearing svZCHF as collateral for crvUSD borrowing, using an existing zCHF/crvUSD pool for pricing and liquidations. As of September 30, lenders had supplied about 458,000 crvUSD and borrowers had drawn 240,000 across eight loans. Most indicated lender return comes from CRV rewards rather than interest, so organic borrowing is the next test. Curve Finance.

🏦 Japan’s SMBC Nikko Builds a DeFi Gateway

SMBC Nikko and Nethermind are building a Uniswap v4 venue for Japanese investors, targeting completion in mid-2027. Pool hooks will enforce AML/CFT checks and investor protections, with liquidity planned for stablecoins, RWAs and other digital assets. There is no live Japanese gateway to trade through yet; this one is still on the construction schedule. Uniswap.

📦 Sia’s Five-Terabyte Upload No Longer Takes a Week

In a September test, Sia’s new client SDK uploaded 5.37 TB in 8.15 hours at 1.46 Gbps, with every file completing. A similar 2018 run took 162 hours for 5.12 TB and eventually stalled. Hardware and uplinks differ, but steady throughput across the full run is the result that matters. Sia.

🚧 Metis Cross-Chain Apps Face Two October Cutoffs

Stargate support on Metis ends October 23, and LayerZero’s default V2 verifier and executor stop serving Metis on October 30. Developers must reconfigure supported paths through new providers or migrate; replacements cover only Ethereum, BNB Chain and GOAT Network. Stargate liquidity providers should withdraw before October 23, and holders of V1 bridged tokens should bridge back. Metis.

Email me, Jonathan Morgan, feedback; I’d love to hear from you. 📧
Follow me on Stocktwits 🫂 And Sponsor this newsletter 😎

Securities Disclaimer: STOCKTWITS IS NOT A TAX ADVISOR, BROKER, FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. THE SERVICE IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE TAX, LEGAL, FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVICE, AND NOTHING ON THE SERVICE SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS AN OFFER TO SELL, A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, OR A RECOMMENDATION FOR ANY SECURITY. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. You should only invest risk capital, and not capital required for other purposes. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal and financial situation. You should also consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation. The Content is to be used for informational and entertainment purposes only and the Service does not provide investment advice for any individual. Stocktwits, its affiliates and partners specifically disclaim any and all liability or loss arising out of any action taken in reliance on Content, including but not limited to market value or other loss on the sale or purchase of any company, property, product, service, security, instrument, or any other matter. You understand that an investment in any security is subject to a number of risks, and that discussions of any security published on the Service will not contain a list or description of relevant risk factors. In addition, please note that some of the stocks about which Content is published on the Service have a low market capitalization and/or insufficient public float. Such stocks are subject to more risk than stocks of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less publicly available information. Read the full terms & conditions here. 🔍

Author Disclosure: The author of this newsletter holds positions in AVAX, ADA, PUDGY, WLD, NEAR, INJ, LTC, LINK, ZEC, XLM, and FET. 📋