Bitchat usage in Uganda has surged ahead of the country’s presidential 
elections as locals resort to the app to bypass a nationwide internet 
blackout. Bitchat downloads have soared in Uganda as locals turn to the 
decentralized application to stay connected…

Bitchat downloads spike in Uganda as voters prepare for offline elections

Software engineer and AI founder Vincent Van Code (@vincent_vancode) is 
arguing that institutional barriers to holding and using XRP have largely 
shifted from “market structure” to “plumbing,” claiming Ripple has spent 
2025–2026 assembling an institutional stack for custody, treasury, and prime 
brokerage that makes large-scale participation operationally viable. In a post 
on X on Wednesday, the engineer framed self-custody as a non-starter for 
traditional allocators managing retirement pools, pensions, and bank balance 
sheets. Ripple Assembles The XRP &#8216;Wall Street Kit&#8217; “Institutions juggling 
billions in 401(k)s, pensions, hedge funds, banks &amp; governments? Self-custody 
was always insane—audit hell, compliance nightmares, risk officers saying ‘no 
way,’” he wrote. “That changed in 2025–2026. Ripple built the full-stack 
bridge: regulated, scalable, bank-trusted infrastructure so big money can 
finally hold &amp; use XRP + RLUSD without the chaos.” Related Reading: Why XRP Is 
Gearing Up For A Massive Week Van Code’s core contention is that the crypto- 
native custody debate misses the institutional reality: risk committees, 
auditors, and compliance functions require regulated custody, reporting, and 
controls that can plug into existing workflows. He argues Ripple’s recent 
buildout amounts to a “Wall Street kit” that addresses those constraints end- 
to-end, spanning payments rails, corporate treasury tooling, prime brokerage 
services, and bank-grade custody. While the post is advocacy rather than a 
formal Ripple announcement, it reflects a view increasingly common among XRP 
supporters: that productized rails and regulated wrappers matter as much as 
market narratives when large allocators consider adding exposure or utility. 
Van Code pointed to Ripple Payments as the transaction layer, describing it as 
“ISO 20022-compliant, real-time cross-border rails on XRPL—already moving 
billions for global banks.” He then tied institutional adoption to what he 
portrayed as adjacent infrastructure designed to make XRP and Ripple’s RLUSD 
workable inside corporate and financial-institution operations. Related 
Reading: XRP Is At An Unique Moment In History: Developer Calls End Of 
Suppression Among the pieces he highlighted was GTreasury, which Ripple 
acquired for $1 billion, characterizing it as an enterprise treasury 
management platform enabling corporations to manage “fiat + digital liquidity 
in real-time.” He also cited Ripple Prime, described as being “powered by 
Hidden Road acquisition for $1.25B”, as a prime brokerage stack offering 
“clearing, financing &amp; OTC trading—including XRP &amp; RLUSD—with seamless XRPL 
settlement for faster, cheaper post-trade ops.” For custody, he argued Ripple 
has converged on a bank-facing offering through a series of deals and 
integrations. “Ripple Custody (bolstered by Palisade acquisition + prior 
Standard Custody/Metaco) → Bank-grade, regulated storage with MPC security, 
multi-chain support &amp; zero-trust architecture,” he wrote, adding that it is 
“auditable, insured, scalable for billions.” Van Code also claimed “RLUSD 
reserves [are] custodied by BNY Mellon for ultimate trust.” The post’s 
conclusion was blunt about expected impact. “Bottom line: Excuses erased. 
Compliance baked in. Custody risk? Solved,” Van Code wrote. “Institutions 
aren&#8217;t just watching—they&#8217;re quietly stacking &amp; building on XRPL. 2026 is the 
year XRP shifts from ‘spec play’ to core financial infrastructure. Billions 
incoming.” If that thesis holds, the next signal for markets will not be 
rhetoric but observable integration: whether these components translate into 
sustained institutional flows, deeper liquidity venues, and production use of 
XRP and RLUSD, ultimately showing up in price discovery. At press time, XRP 
traded at $2.15. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from 
TradingView.com

Ripple Builds XRP ‘Wall Street Kit’: Developer Claims ‘Billions Incoming’

The Ethereum blockchain underwent a series of upgrades last year that have 
resulted in lower transaction fees and more active addresses.

Efforts to bulletproof Ethereum are paying off in user metrics

Bitcoin moved back above the $95,000 level on Wednesday as strong spot 
exchange-traded fund demand and easing futures sell pressure helped steady 
market sentiment after weeks of heavy volatility. At press time, Bitcoin was 
trading around $95,033, up 3.2% over…

Bitcoin price reclaims $95K as U.S. spot BTC ETFs record $753M in inflows

Pakistan has signed an agreement with SC Financial Technologies, a firm linked 
to Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, to explore using its USD1 stablecoin 
for payments.

Cryptocurrency price in EUR