Asset Managers

The XRP Ledger’s Batch upgrade has been delayed by at least 10 days after validator support briefly fell below the network’s activation threshold. The feature would allow users to bundle up to eight transactions, while a separate permission delegation upgrade has also been pushed back.

Ripple says asset managers and other commercial projects are preparing to use Batch V1.1, an XRP Ledger upgrade designed to group linked transactions so they settle together or fail together. The feature is nearing activation after a redesign and expanded security review following a critical flaw found in the earlier version.

A Broadridge survey of North American financial services executives shows tokenization has moved from experimentation toward strategic planning across Wall Street. Firms are largely preparing for hybrid market infrastructure where digital tokens and traditional assets coexist rather than a fully onchain replacement of existing systems.

Former Ethereum Foundation institutional privacy researchers have launched EthSystems, a for-profit company focused on confidentiality tools for banks and other financial institutions using Ethereum. The move comes as Ethereum’s ecosystem redistributes key responsibilities through new independent organizations amid rising institutional interest in public blockchain infrastructure.

Standard Chartered has begun coverage of Morpho with a bullish end-2030 price target, arguing the protocol is positioned to benefit from tokenization and DeFi growth. The bank said Morpho’s lending and onchain infrastructure businesses could scale alongside a projected 37-fold expansion in DeFi assets.

A new nonprofit, Ethereum Institutional, has launched to help banks, asset managers and enterprises evaluate Ethereum for tokenization and stablecoins. The move arrives as the Ethereum Foundation narrows its focus to the core protocol.

Asset managers are accelerating plans to tokenize ETFs as investor demand and competitive pressure build around blockchain-based finance. BNY says firms are moving even as regulation, trading infrastructure and market structure remain unsettled.