​​XRP Price Update: Ripple Token Holds Support Amid ETF Speculation and CTO Exit​  ig.com
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ETFs, stablecoins, and Layer-2s are broadband for Bitcoin: New access rails, not replacements.
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
AOL discontinued dial-up internet access yesterday, Sept. 30, 2025, ending the access service while AOL Mail and other products remain.
According to AOL, the AOL Dialer and AOL Shield are now retired, with instructions for users to transition off legacy connections now posted for support reference.
The shutdown affects a tiny fraction of U.S. households and arrives as crypto markets mature through new access channels that change how investors reach Bitcoin without changing what Bitcoin is.
The dial-up analogy surfaces whenever markets rotate or infrastructure sunsets, yet dial-up was an access modality to a network, not the network itself.
So, in short, no, Bitcoin is not going to be replaced like dial-up has been.
However, let’s dive into why and where the actual comparison between the internet and Bitcoin adoption remains valid.
If there is a parallel to AOL in crypto, it is the set of custodial front ends, exchange on-ramps, and second-layer user experiences that rotate as technology and regulation move.
The network that dial-up connected to, the Internet, persisted and scaled across broadband and mobile generations.
Per the International Telecommunication Union, about 5.5 billion people, roughly 68 percent of the world, were online in 2024, a reminder that networks expand while edge access changes.
The proper crypto mapping treats ETFs, stablecoins, and Layer-2s as access rails that can broaden participation, not as replacements for the base monetary layer.
Dial-up’s remaining footprint offers a perspective on sunset dynamics.
The 2023 American Community Survey counted about 163,401 U.S. households reporting dial-up alone, a heavily rural slice that persisted because of last-mile constraints and price sensitivity.
According to the US Census Bureau, those households sit beside far larger shares on mobile broadband and fixed broadband, underscoring that a network’s long tail of legacy access can coexist with new rails before finally being retired.
Crypto’s access mix looks similar in principle, with direct self-custody, exchange custody, programmatic exposure through ETFs, and emerging account-abstraction models all serving the same monetary protocol.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have created a broadband-like on-ramp for institutions and advisors, converting operational hurdles into ticker exposure in brokerage accounts.
Per Farside Investors’ live tracker, cumulative net inflows since January 2024 now stand north of $60 billion, with flows pulsing alongside macro and positioning rather than vanishing when volatility fades.
CoinShares’ recent weekly notes through September reported ongoing inflows into Bitcoin and Ethereum products, flipping risk on and off week to week while maintaining a durable base of assets under management.
The ETF channel does not replace Bitcoin; it replaces operational friction in the way dial-up once gave way to cable, fiber, and 4G, all serving the same Internet.
Macro provides the cycle’s backdrop. On Sept. 17, the Federal Reserve cut the target range by 25 basis points to 4.00 to 4.25 percent, with officials emphasizing a cautious path that leaves optionality if inflation stalls above target.
According to the Fed’s implementation note, the standing repo facility and administered rates were adjusted to match the new range, keeping money-market plumbing aligned with policy intent.
Inflows into listed products tend to build when real yields stabilize and credit spreads stay orderly, so allocation channels rather than base-layer throughput often set the incremental marginal buyer for Bitcoin in this phase of the cycle.
Global crypto ownership sits in the mid-hundreds of millions. According to Triple-A’s 2024 report, about 562 million people held crypto last year, with nearly 6.8 percent penetration, with wide regional dispersion and methodology caveats that differ from on-chain counts.
Crypto.com’s market sizing placed end-2024 ownership closer to 659 million, a reminder that top-down survey-based estimates vary and should be treated as ranges rather than point truths.
On-chain activity often diverges from price and AUM, with Glassnode documenting that active address counts remain below 2021 highs even as capital access has broadened through ETFs, a gap consistent with a savings-led cycle rather than a payments-led one.
Lightning Network public capacity has drifted down from late-2023 peaks above 5,400 BTC to roughly 4,000 to 4,200 BTC by August 2025, a move that fits an architecture and UX reshuffle as custodial accounts and alternative scaling choices absorb some flows; the live series remains the right reference for current readings.
The replacement question is better tested as a set of vectors rather than a slogan. One path is monetary substitution in payments, where stablecoins or future CBDCs dominate transactions while Bitcoin concentrates as a savings instrument.
A second is functional abstraction, where layers and custodial accounts mask base-layer complexity much as broadband masked copper and modems for Web users. A third is competition from other L1s in payment or compute niches, which does not automatically dislodge Bitcoin’s store-of-value role if institutional rails and custody continue to harden.
Each path is observable with data, including ETP flows, wallet counts, stablecoin settlement, and layer capacity. Per Farside and CoinShares, the capital rail is the clearest change so far.
Policy remains the swing factor, including stablecoin legislation, bank connectivity, and ETP rule adjustments that could slow flows even if demand is intact.
Macro can reprice allocations quickly if inflation stalls above target or re-accelerates, which would pressure the Fed’s easing path and lift real yields, a setup that historically cools inflows into long-duration risk. Network structure deserves monitoring, especially pool concentration.
According to b10c’s 2025 analysis, roughly six mining pools account for more than 95 percent of recent blocks, which is pool concentration rather than ultimate asset ownership but still relevant for transaction selection, fee dynamics, and potential MEV concerns.
Execution risk shows up in Lightning routing concentration and channel management, which should be assessed next to growth in off-channel and custodial usage rather than read as a singular demand gauge.
Allocation and penetration scenarios frame 2026 to 2030 without resorting to price targets. A conservative path assumes about 0.5 percent allocation from global investable assets into Bitcoin across ETFs, corporate treasuries, and HNW custody, yielding hundreds of billions of potential demand over a full cycle, with choppy pacing if inflation surprises.
A base case uses a one percent allocation that, over time, creates a trillion-plus demand capacity if custody, clearing, and advisory workflows keep integrating Bitcoin.
An aspirational case in the two to two and a half percent range requires benign macro, scalable market plumbing, and clear policy, which would be equivalent to multi-trillion dollar capacity over the cycle.
On the user side, slow, base, and fast tracks range from about one billion to more than two billion crypto owners by 2030, depending on mobile wallet integrations, regulatory clarity, and the split between savings and payments.
The ITU baseline helps position those ranges on the adoption curve, since the world’s Internet penetration already sits near the upper half of the S-curve.
Framed this way, the end of dial-up clarifies the debate.
Access layers come and go as distribution, regulation, and user experience improve, while the network or monetary base can endure.
ETFs, stablecoins, and Layer-2s operate like broadband for capital and transactions, expanding the addressable base for savings and settlement without requiring a replacement for Bitcoin itself.
AOL’s original dial-up service is off, but the Internet is still on.
Also known as “Akiba,” Liam Wright is a reporter, podcast producer, and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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The best things in life are free, even if those things take you away from your 6-figure business in Nigeria. For the second edition of 1k Ways to Japa, I spoke to this businessman who left his thriving business to study in Switzerland. At first, I thought he was crazy because if my hand touched what he earned in Nigeria monthly, best believe I would be enjoying a capitalism-free life in Ogbomosho.  But when he explained that his school is technically free and he gets the chance to restart his life with his savings in a stable country like Switzerland, I rated his move like mad. If you’re looking for the most affordable way to say goodbye to this country, he shared all the details in this article. 
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Ripple Update: CTO Steps Down, XRP Connects to SWIFT Via ILP  99Bitcoins
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4 energy-saving tips from Columbia Gas for lower energy bills in Ohio  Mahoning Matters
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Coroner has released the name of the person killed last night in a Lexington shooting.
Officials say 25-year-old Chance Gist died from a gunshot wound.
Police were called to the 1500 block of North Limestone shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday. The victim was taken to the UK Medical Center, where he died.
Lexington Police say the shooting is being investigated as a homicide.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about this case to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app at www.p3tips.com
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In the crypto jungle, success is not always guaranteed. One day, you accumulate wins, euphoric. The next day, it’s a cold shower, your portfolio is in tatters. This is exactly what a certain @qwatio, also known as Falllling, is experiencing. He has just surpassed 3.6 million dollars in losses by betting against XRP. And yet, he continues. His latest short is hanging just a few cents from liquidation. Suspended, literally.
This is no longer trading, it’s a duel. Despite colossal losses, @qwatio keeps shorting XRP.
The numbers are dizzying. He shorted 1,366.67 BTC at 40× and 2.78 million XRP at 20×, liquidated above $110,280 and $3.0665 respectively. Result: $3.6M in losses. He is following up with a new position of 6.17M XRP (≈ $17.6M) at 20× leverage. As soon as the XRP price approaches $2.9155, his position shakes.
He doesn’t relent. Even after a partial liquidation, he remains exposed to $14.3M on 4.98M XRP. XRP hovers around $2.90. Needless to say, the slightest upward wave is enough to take him out. 
No stop-loss. No plan B. Just the conviction that it will go down.
XRP attracts short sellers like mosquitoes to light. It is liquid, volatile, and offers a perfect ground for those who like to play it tight. But by playing with fire, some seriously get burned.
A slight shiver in the market, and a whole house of cards threatens to collapse. If the XRP price crosses the $2.93 mark, platforms could liquidate up to 44 million dollars in short positions, in a brutal automatic chain reaction. This type of cascade trigger — called a short squeeze — is unforgiving: it forces short sellers to urgently buy back, pushing the price even higher. It is a trap feared even by the most seasoned. 
And in this case, the thresholds are so tight that the slightest movement acts like a detonation.
Here are the facts that make people tremble:
His behavior borders on obsession. He created a new wallet (0x9018), injected 4.22M USDC, and restarted the machine. Observers no longer see a strategy but a form of addiction disguised by the word “conviction.”
Even the greats make mistakes. Billionaire James Wynn also experienced a setback with bitcoin. To bounce back, he bet everything on the ASTER airdrop, hoping to turn this drop into a jackpot. A new bet. A new chance?
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La révolution blockchain et crypto est en marche ! Et le jour où les impacts se feront ressentir sur l’économie la plus vulnérable de ce Monde, contre toute espérance, je dirai que j’y étais pour quelque chose
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Pi Coin’s Market Liquidity Grows as Pi Network Lists on Onramp Money  CoinCentral
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The digital finance landscape has changed at an extremely high pace, and the year 2025 has already been described as the year of Bitcoin breakthrough among investors. As Bitcoin prices grow to new heights and it finds more users worldwide, it remains the most lucrative investment to pursue both as an individual and a company. Contrary to conventional financial markets, Bitcoin is based on a decentralised blockchain system which guarantees transparency, security, and potential to grow. Investors across the globe are currently trying to get the most out of Bitcoin and bitcoin-based projects like the Hashj Bitcoin Investment Project have become top choices.
In this article, we will discuss the Bitcoin investment, why it became so profitable in 2025, and why Hashj is the centre of such a change. New users can get platform discounts when they register.
Bitcoin investment is defined as putting cash into Bitcoin in the desire to make profit. The investor has several options: to buy and retain Bitcoin at the same time, to trade Bitcoin at stock markets, or to invest in projects and platforms that can make this process easier and more profitable. Unlike fiat currency which are controlled by central banks, Bitcoin is decentralised and therefore not subject to inflationary policies or political manipulation.
Other investors play a long-term game, also known as HODLing, in which they purchase Bitcoin and keep it as its value increases with each year. Other people adopt trading with a view of exploiting short term price fluctuations.
Besides that, new technologies like and yield-based projects based on Bitcoin allow investors to receive passive income and do not require technical skills. By 2025, investment in Bitcoin has become a formal financial prospect to first time investors and professional traders.
The year 2025 has also become another milestone in the process of Bitcoin. This is the reason why an increasing number of individuals are considering Bitcoin as the main investment choice:
To both experienced and inexperienced investors, there is no safer, less risky, and more easily accessible asset like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has performed better than nearly all other classes of assets in the last ten years and by the year 2025, it will still be among the most lucrative investments. It is very gratifying due to several important reasons:
All of these factors are part of what has transformed Bitcoin to not only a secure digital commodity but one of the most profitable investments of the present.
Of the numerous opportunities that exist in 2025, Hashj Bitcoin Investment Project is one of the most lucrative and trustworthy investment platforms. The process of traditional trading is complex and complicated compared to Hashj which is a simplified system that guarantees accessibility and good returns.
To people willing to make lucrative investments in Bitcoin in 2025, Hashj will offer the best combination of reliability, security and good financial returns.
To explore Bitcoin investment opportunities, visit https://hashtagini.com/
By 2025, Bitcoin keeps conquering the investment industry with unrivalled profitability, ensuring extensive global adoption, and high demand. The fact that it is a limited and decentralised digital asset makes it an extremely valuable long-term investment. Through programmes such as the Hashj Bitcoin Investment Project, even non-technical people can be engaged in Bitcoin investment without technical problems.
To find the most profitable Bitcoin investment this year, you may consider a combination of the natural scarcity of Bitcoin and the most inventive platforms such as Hashj to ensure your long-term financial growth.
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