PANews Feature | New Cards, Same Challenge: Can Yuga Labs Revive Demand? Can BAYC’s move into trading cards offer a way out of the NFT downturn? Yuga Labs has introduced Mudwater, a physical-digital trading card series, allocating more than 70% of its supply to community airdrops as it seeks new use cases for BAYC. From card battles to a mechanism designed to fund APE buybacks and distribute tokens to holders, Mudwater adds gameplay and incentives. Yet pack prices have fallen sharply, with no significant boost to BAYC or MAYC floor prices. Can a new offering built around existing holders attract players beyond crypto while competing with established TCG franchises? We examine Mudwater’s mechanics and market performance, and Yuga Labs’ challenge of turning brand recognition into sustained demand. #YugaLabs #BAYC #NFT #TCG

Weekly Funding Report by PANews | Oct. 12–18 Last week, crypto funding concentrated on RWA liquidity infrastructure and stablecoin payments. According to incomplete statistics compiled by PANews, the global blockchain sector recorded 6 funding deals totaling more than $54 million. Fission raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Pantera Capital. In AI, DeepSeek’s planned funding round could expand to approximately RMB 100 billion, at a pre-money valuation of around RMB 500 billion. AI infrastructure company Infinigence AI raised RMB 2.3 billion in Series C funding, while SWI Group raised €800 million in equity financing to convert former Bitcoin mining sites into AI data centers. These deals highlight continued investment in model development, computing services and the repurposing of existing energy infrastructure. In embodied AI, AgiBot was reportedly pursuing RMB 1–1.5 billion in fresh funding at a valuation of approximately RMB 50 billion. Oula Wanxiang completed an angel+ round worth several hundred million yuan. DeepSeek also plans to lead a seed round of tens of millions of dollars in robotics AI startup Winverse AI, at an expected post-money valuation of around $400 million. #AI #Crypto #Blockchain #Funding #VentureCapital #Stablecoins

PANews Crypto+AI Preview for This Week (Oct. 19–25) This week, South Korea’s government will convene five major crypto exchanges to discuss virtual asset taxation, while the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference will open. On the project front, @solana's Alpenglow upgrade and Soul Protocol will go live on mainnet. Aerodrome and @VelodromeFi will begin their merger. The @Zcash team will decide on NU7 mainnet activation, while the @Starknet community will conclude a signaling vote on transitioning to an independent quantum-resistant L1. @Mint_Blockchain will cease operations, and @extendedapp will migrate to @arc, requiring users to handle their assets in time. @StandX_Official perpetual contracts will move to reduce-only mode. @MetisL2 will end support for @StargateFinance, while Venus will discontinue support for opBNB, Optimism and Unichain. On the exchange and product front, @binance will suspend filecoin:native and ethereum:0x6fb3e0a217407efff7ca062d46c26e5d60a14d69 deposits and withdrawals, while @Official_Upbit will delist ICX trading pairs. @CMEGroup plans to launch bitcoin-cash:native and ethereum:0x1f9840a85d5af5bf1d1762f925bdaddc4201f984 futures, and @fablesfi will hold its token generation event. @Bitwise's spot @dogecoin ETF BWOW will liquidate and close, while the @Sei_Labs staking ETF from REX Shares and @OspreyFunds is expected to become effective. @Strive plans to expand its SATS preferred stock IPO, while @UniversalSafety will change its name and pivot to blockchain financial markets. base:0x98d0baa52b2d063e780de12f615f963fe8537553, ethereum:0x6985884c4392d348587b19cb9eaaf157f13271cd, solana:4eDf52YYzL6i6gbZ6FXqrLUPXbtP61f1gPSFM66M4XHe and other tokens are scheduled for unlocks this week, potentially adding to market volatility. Elsewhere, @Cloudflare Connect 2026 and other events will take place. @SpaceX will release its third-quarter results, and @Lighter_xyz will host an investor call. @Apple's foldable iPhone Duo will go on sale, while Nvidia-backed AI company Firmus plans an IPO in Australia. #Crypto #AI #TokenUnlocks #KAITO #ZRO #SOON #iPhoneDuo

Token Unlocks for Next Week (Oct. 19–25) Several tokens are set for major unlocks next week, including ethereum:0x6985884c4392d348587b19cb9eaaf157f13271cd, plasma:native and ethereum:0xe76c5b78f93909d34404e9eb4c1f19e7582a5de1. @LayerZero_Core (ZRO) will unlock approximately 23.28 million tokens on Oct. 20, representing about 3.83% of its circulating supply and worth around $43.3 million. @Plasma (XPL) will unlock approximately 227 million tokens on Oct. 25, representing about 5.02% of its circulating supply and worth around $17.9 million. @Humanityprot (H) will unlock approximately 266 million tokens on Oct. 25, representing about 6.84% of its circulating supply and worth around $15 million. Full breakdown in the image 👇 #TokenUnlocks

PANews Feature | From VC to Kraken Co-CEO: Arjun Sethi’s Bet on a Bigger Financial Empire @krakenfx parent @Payward has signed a deal to acquire Saldo Bank’s parent company, seeking an EU banking license, pending regulatory approval. One driving force is @arjunsethi, whose career spans social gaming, Silicon Valley venture capital, and crypto exchange leadership. He once recounted throwing away a computer holding bitcoin he later estimated would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, he is helping bring futures, tokenized stocks, payments, and banking under one roof through a string of acquisitions. His overlapping roles as investor and executive have also drawn scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. As the licenses and businesses accumulate, can Sethi turn this acquisition spree into a cohesive, consistently profitable financial group? #Kraken #Crypto #TradFi #Tokenization #Fintech

PANews Feature | After StandX: 9 Perp DEXs on the Airdrop Radar StandX is winding down, canceling its TGE and offering a one-time DUSD airdrop to compensate its community, a reminder that points don’t guarantee a token payout. We examines nine major perp DEXs: established platforms such as Variational and Extended face intense competition for points, while new seasons at TxFlow and Arcus offer earlier entry opportunities, with protocol maturity and genuine demand still to be tested. Ondo Points, meanwhile, carry no promise of token conversion. From trading volume and open interest to incentive rules and participation costs, which opportunities warrant attention, and which expectations need a reset? The next phase of airdrop farming will reward sound risk-reward judgment, not just trading volume. #PerpDEX #Airdrops #DeFi #Derivatives

RWA Weekly｜Ant & HSBC Test AI Agent Payments; Robinhood Eyes Tokenized Active ETFs The RWA market grew 1.06% this week to $39.18 billion, while holders rose 16.3% to 5.26 million. Stablecoin market cap held at $292.4 billion, with holder counts and monthly active addresses increasing even as monthly transfer volume continued to contract. On regulation, ESMA sought feedback on tokenized collateral; the EBA designated USDC as MiCA’s first significant e-money token, triggering a partial transfer of supervisory responsibilities; and Qivalis secured a Dutch EMI license to advance a compliant, bank-backed euro stablecoin. Ant International subscribed to ChinaAMC’s RMB digital currency fund, connecting cross-border e-CNY transfers with offshore investment, while Ant Digital Technologies and @HSBC tested AI agent payments using tokenized deposits. @RobinhoodCrypto and @Bybit_Official advanced tokenized equity initiatives, and @Perpetuals_com plans to build a trading platform under the SEC’s innovation exemption. @StanChart, @Ripple, @Visa, and @stripe xpanded stablecoin custody, collateral, and payment initiatives. Meanwhile, @FissionXYZ and @multiliquid_xyz secured funding, and @tether increased investment in Latin America’s RWA payment infrastructure. #RWA #Tokenization #Stablecoins #AIAgents #MiCA