Today in crypto, banks in North America, Europe and Asia are preparing to participate in trials involving digital assets, which will be hosted by SWIFT. The SEC filed a notice of appeal in the Ripple lawsuit, seeking to overturn an earlier ruling from Judge Analisa Torres. Ripple says it is evaluating whether to file a cross-appeal. Meanwhile, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said Bitcoin whales aren’t in a position to offload their sizable holdings.

Banks to join SWIFT digital asset trials in 2025

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) announced on Oct. 3 that it will begin digital asset trials on its network in 2025. The trials will involve experiments with transactions that include multiple digital currencies and assets.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Cryptocurrency Exchange

Source: SWIFT

The trials aim to explore how the banking network can provide financial institutions with unified access to “multiple digital asset classes and currencies.”

In the announcement, SWIFT highlighted the rapid growth of unconnected platforms and technologies in the digital asset economy that has led to an “increasingly fragmented landscape.”

According to SWIFT, such fragmentation poses significant impediments to global adoption because it creates a “complex web of ‘digital islands.’”

SWIFT stated:

“SWIFT’s trials will leverage its unique position [...] to interlink these disparate networks with each other as well as with existing fiat currencies, enabling its global community to seamlessly transact using digital assets and currencies alongside traditional forms of value.”

Ripple CEO: ‘We’ll fight in court for as long as we need’

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse has vowed to fight the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in court “for as long as we need.”

“Somehow, they still haven’t gotten the message: they lost on everything that matters,” Garlinghouse wrote in an Oct. 2 X post, deriding the SEC’s appeal notice.

“While we’ll fight in court for as long as we need, let’s be clear: XRP’s status as a non-security is the law of the land today.”

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a notice of appeal in the Ripple lawsuit on Oct. 2, 2024, seeking to overturn an earlier ruling from Judge Analisa Torres.

Source: Brad Garlinghouse

Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty wrote on X that the SEC’s appeal was “disappointing, but not surprising,” adding it was “evaluating whether to file a cross-appeal.”

Bitcoin whales won’t rock the boat — for now

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said Bitcoin whales have yet to accumulate enough unrealized profits to begin dumping their large holdings on the market.

In an Oct. 2 social media post, the analyst said newer Bitcoin whales — those holding the assets for up to five months — would only realize a profit of 1% if they decided to dump their holdings now. 

While older whales have fared better, they “haven’t seen particularly higher returns” during the current market cycle, said Ju. 

Unrealized Profit Ratio, New vs. Old Bitcoin Whales. Source: CryptoQuant

In Ju’s view, whales are unlikely to sell a portion of their holdings until retail investors return to the market.

The Bitcoin price has seen renewed volatility this week amid heightened Mideast tensions. Some analysts believe Bitcoin could fall to around $54,000 as investors continue to bid up traditional safe-havens, such as gold.