Overview:
US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted USD 23.16 million in daily inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT.
Solana's Alpenglow upgrade targets transaction finality of 150 milliseconds.
Tether led Mural's USD 15 million Series A funding round to expand international payment infrastructure and financial services for AI agents.
The crypto market saw major developments as spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded USD 23 million in net inflows, while Zcash entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies after a 12% rally. In other news, Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade plans to cut settlement time from 6 seconds to 150 milliseconds, and Tether leads Mural funding.
Bitcoin Witnessed USD 23 million in Inflows
SoSoValue data shows that the Bitcoin spot ETF saw a total net inflow of USD 23.16 million on October 20, 2026. The Bitcoin Spot ETF with the highest net inflow was BlackRock's ETF IBIT, with a daily net inflow of USD 29.87 million, and the total historical net inflow of IBIT currently stands at USD 66.26 billion.
The second highest was Fidelity's ETF FBTC, with a daily net inflow of USD 3.58 million, and the total historical net inflow of FBTC currently stands at USD 10.37 billion.
The Bitcoin Spot ETF with the highest net outflow yesterday was Bitwise's ETF BITB, with a daily net outflow of USD 10.29 million, and the total historical net inflow of BITB currently stands at USD 2.04 billion.
The total net asset value of Bitcoin Spot ETFs is USD 106.28 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 6.38%. The historical cumulative net inflow has reached USD 57.43 billion.
Zcash Climbs into Top 10 Cryptocurrency
Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) has entered straight into the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization after a 12% rally. Data from Kaiko suggests that the cryptocurrency is worth approximately USD 21.4 billion.
ZEC has gained about 2,076% since January 1, 2025, according to CoinGecko. It rose from around USD 400 to above USD 1,680 over the past three months. Monero has followed a similar path, climbing 17% over seven days on protocol upgrades and renewed interest in privacy assets.
Two large traders opened 10x leveraged long positions totaling 29,798 ZEC, valued at approximately USD 37.57 million, over 15 hours, according to on-chain tracking service Lookonchain.
Also Read: Why Analysts Disagree on Bitcoin’s Price Outlook as Interest-Rate Risks Rise
Ripple Urges SEC Regarding Crypto Regulation Uncertainty
Ripple is urging the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to finalize its proposed crypto rules, arguing that clear regulations are needed to protect investors and keep innovation in the United States.
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said the company supports the proposal, but stressed that the industry needs clear rules instead of years of case-by-case enforcement.
On October 20, Ripple filed a comment letter supporting the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. Alderoty said the agency has clear authority to adopt the rules and called for a clearer approach to digital asset regulation.
He said that years of case-by-case enforcement have pushed crypto innovation overseas. Ripple wants rules that follow existing laws and clearly explain when a digital asset falls under securities laws.
Solana's Alpenglow Upgrade
Solana is activating Alpenglow on Wednesday, introducing a major change to how the network reaches transaction finality. The upgrade aims to reduce settlement times from roughly 6 seconds to just 150 milliseconds by changing how validators communicate and confirm transactions.
The Alpenglow rollout could significantly improve the user experience for traders, exchanges, and payment applications that depend on fast transaction confirmation.
At the center of the upgrade is a redesign of how validators reach agreement. Under the current system, validators write their votes directly to the blockchain, and transactions are considered final only after enough votes accumulate.
That process typically takes around six seconds. With Alpenglow, validator votes move off-chain and are grouped into certificates that can finalize transactions in one or two rounds.
Tether Leads Mural Funding
Tether has led a USD 15 million Series A funding round for New York-based Mural, supporting the financial technology company’s development of payment infrastructure for businesses and artificial intelligence agents.
According to Mural’s October 20 announcement, North Island Ventures and existing investors participated in the financing, bringing its total capital raised to USD 28 million.
Mural plans to use the investment to expand internationally and develop the banking, payment and compliance services needed for software agents to conduct financial transactions.
Founded in 2022 by former Palantir engineers Sinclair Toffa and Chris Fernandes, the company provides infrastructure that businesses use to manage accounts, payment instructions, identity verification and regulatory requirements across banking networks and blockchains.
Also Read: JPMorgan Expands JPM Coin to Ethereum for Faster Institutional Payments
FAQs:
1. How much money flowed into Bitcoin spot ETFs?
According to SoSoValue, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded USD 23.16 million in daily net inflows. BlackRock's IBIT led with USD 29.87 million, while Bitwise's BITB recorded USD 10.29 million in outflows.
2. Why did Zcash enter the top 10 cryptocurrencies?
Zcash entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization following a 12% rally, pushing its valuation to approximately USD 21.4 billion. According to CoinGecko, ZEC has gained around 2,076% since January 1, 2025, amid renewed interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.
3. What is Solana's Alpenglow upgrade, and how does it improve transaction speed?
Solana's Alpenglow upgrade redesigns validator communication and voting to reduce transaction finality from approximately six seconds to a targeted 150 milliseconds. It moves validator votes off-chain and aggregates them into certificates, potentially improving settlement efficiency for exchanges, payments and decentralized applications.
4. Why is Ripple urging the SEC to finalize cryptocurrency regulations?
Ripple submitted a comment letter on October 20 supporting the SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets framework. Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty argued that clear regulations would reduce uncertainty, protect investors and help prevent cryptocurrency innovation from moving overseas.
5. Why did Tether invest USD 15 million in Mural?
Tether led a USD 15 million Series A funding round for Mural, bringing the company's total funding to USD 28 million. Mural plans to expand its international payment infrastructure and develop banking, compliance and transaction services that enable businesses and AI agents to conduct financial operations.