XRP ETFs Lead Altcoin Race as Monad Launches and Major Security Threats Emerge

Today's Chain Reaction brings you critical developments shaping crypto markets. XRP ETFs have surged to leadership with five hundred eighty-seven million dollars in cumulative inflows, outpacing Solana amid aggressive fee competition from Franklin Templeton. Monad's highly anticipated layer one blockchain launched with MON token surging eighty percent to reach a market cap near five hundred million dollars. A major security crisis hit the crypto ecosystem as the Shai-Hulud worm compromised four hundred ninety-two npm packages affecting AsyncAPI, PostHog, ENS domains and more, with destructive capabilities that wipe user files. Institutional moves include Ark Invest adding nine point one million dollars in Circle and Bullish shares, Metaplanet securing a one hundred thirty million dollar loan for more Bitcoin purchases, and MoonPay obtaining a New York Trust Charter. Bitcoin trades at eighty-seven thousand and twenty-five dollars while analyst perspectives remain divided on whether markets have hit a local bottom. We also cover Cardano's network split, JPMorgan's Bitcoin structured notes, Kraken's Bitcoin rewards debit card, and regulatory developments including the AI Fraud Deterrence Act and Polymarket's CFTC approval for US operations.