The Daily: Ripple's David Schwartz announces exit, Trump-backed World Liberty Financial explores tokenizing RWAs, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! Bitcoin enters October on an uncertain footing as Asia begins its annual holiday season lull and Washington D.C., starts a partial government shutdown.

In today's newsletter, Ripple CTO David Schwartz announces his departure from the role by the end of the year, World Liberty Financial plans to tokenize real-world assets, Metaplanet becomes the fourth-largest public bitcoin holder, and more.

Meanwhile, the White House drops Brian Quintenz from CFTC chair consideration, and Strategy's stock rises as the U.S. Treasury clarifies CAMT exclusion for unrealized crypto profits.

Let's get started!

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Ripple's David Schwartz announces exit

Ripple CTO David Schwartz announced he will step down at the end of 2025 after more than a decade at the company.

• Schwartz, instrumental in the development of the XRP Ledger, spent seven years at Ripple as CTO and a further six years as Chief Cryptographer.
• "I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the kids and grandkids and going back to the hobbies I set aside," Schwartz said.
• Despite leaving the operational CTO role, Schwartz isn't cutting ties with Ripple completely, retaining the honorary title CTO Emeritus and joining the firm's board of directors.
• "Be warned, I'm not going away from the XRP community," he added. "You haven't seen the last of me (now, or ever)."
• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Schwartz as a "true OG in crypto" and said he would continue to influence Ripple's future as a board member.

World Liberty Financial plans to tokenize RWAs

Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial is working on a tokenization platform for commodities like oil, gas, cotton, and timber, pairing them with its USD1 stablecoin.

• At TOKEN2049 in Singapore, CEO Zack Witkoff noted that USD1, now the world's fifth-largest stablecoin with a $2.7 billion market cap, will soon expand to the Aptos blockchain.
• The DeFi project also plans its own debit card rollout, expected in late 2025 or early 2026, alongside a wallet and mobile app.
• Co-founder Donald Trump Jr. stressed World Liberty's global mission and business focus, distancing the project from its perceived political affiliation.

Metaplanet now fourth-largest public bitcoin holder after latest $620 million buy

Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet bought 5,268 BTC for approximately $623 million , lifting its total holdings to 30,823 BTC.

• CEO Simon Gerovich said the latest buy makes Metaplanet the fourth-largest publicly traded bitcoin holder behind Strategy, MARA, and Twenty One.
• This latest major acquisition follows a $632 million BTC purchase announced Sept. 21 — MetaPlanet's largest bitcoin buy to date.
• Meanwhile, the company reported 115.7% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in Q3.
• Last month, Metaplanet announced plans to raise $1.4 billion by issuing 385 million new shares, with the proceeds earmarked for further bitcoin purchases.

Falling rates could ignite new 'DeFi summer,' says Aave founder

Stani Kulechov, founder of DeFi lending platform Aave, said central bank rate cuts create additional arbitrage that could spark a new "DeFi summer."

• During a TOKEN2049 discussion panel, he argued falling rates will drive strong demand for alternative yields, setting the stage for a bull market in DeFi, and opening up global access to compelling returns.
• Meanwhile, Kulechov predicted that tokenized assets will play a more significant role in the future of DeFi, as regulations ease.
• Aave's total value locked has doubled in 2025 to $43.4 billion and it is currently ranked as the sixth-largest protocol by fees generated, making over $99 million in the past 30 days, according to DeFiLlama.

Tether to tap Rumble through upcoming wallet to drive USAT adoption in US

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said at TOKEN2049 that the company will leverage video streaming platform Rumble's users to drive adoption of its new U.S.-focused stablecoin USAT.

• "The aim there is to prove how we can convert [Rumble's] 51 million [monthly] active users, mostly in the United States, to use stablecoins within the U.S., the most sophisticated country nation for financial rails," Ardoino said.
• Rumble plans to launch a crypto wallet powered by Tether's technology later this year as part of the rollout.
• Tether announced a $775 million investment in Rumble last year and now holds about a 48% stake in the firm.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. jobless claims data were due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, but could now be delayed amid the government shutdown.
• Ethena is set for a token unlock .
• TOKEN2049 continues in Singapore.

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