Today in crypto, the Bank of North Dakota announced plans to introduce its official stablecoin, the Roughrider Coin. Meanwhile, BNB Chain traders are cashing in as new memecoins go parabolic, and analysts say Canary Capital’s Litecoin and HBAR funds are poised to launch once the US government reopens.
North Dakota, Fiserv announce plan for state-backed ‘Roughrider’ stablecoin
The Bank of North Dakota is entering the stablecoin market with Roughrider Coin, a US dollar–backed cryptocurrency developed in partnership with payments firm Fiserv.
According to a Wednesday announcement, the token will be available to banks and credit unions in North Dakota in 2026 and is designed to support interbank transactions, merchant payments, and cross-border money movement.
Fiserv reportedly processed an estimated 35 billion merchant transactions in 2022. Its digital asset platform was introduced in June alongside a “white-label” stablecoin for banks. Roughrider Coin will operate on this system and Fiserv expects it to be interoperable with other stablecoins.
The coin is named after Theodore Roosevelt, who served as US president from 1901 to 1909. In the late 1800s, Roosevelt led a unit called the Rough Riders that fought in Cuba against the Spanish Army. He settled in North Dakota after retiring from politics.
The Roughrider token will be the second state-issued stablecoin announced in the US this year, following Wyoming’s Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) mainnet launched in August on seven blockchains before confirming Hedera as its issuer in September.
BNB Chain memecoins mint new millionaires in wild trading week
Cryptocurrency traders made millions of dollars on small-cap memecoins on the BNB Chain over the past week, signaling a renewed wave of speculative capital fueling the current market cycle.
Among the most profitable investors is trader “0xd0a2,” who turned an initial investment of $3,500 into $7.9 million, generating a 2,260-fold return in three days, according to blockchain intelligence platform Lookonchain.
Trader “hexiecs” turned a $360,000 investment into over $5.5 million by investing in the recently launched “4” memecoin, which went parabolic after an X post from Binance co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
Other speculators also jumped on the token, including trader “brc20niubi,” who turned a $730,000 investment into $5.4 million, printing a 1,200-fold return on investment, according to Lookonchain.
The activity followed a trade earlier in the week when the wallet “0x872” netted nearly $2 million in profits within hours after investing just $3,000 in the 4 token. The trader achieved a 650-fold return after Zhao reshared a post about the token to his 8.9 million X followers on Oct. 1.
Canary’s Litecoin, HBAR ETFs ready for “go-time” after gov’t shutdown
Canary Capital appears to be on the cusp of having its Litecoin (LTC) and HBAR (HBAR) exchange-traded funds (ETF) approved after filing key final details on Tuesday, but they’re unlikely to launch while the US government is shut down.
Canary’s amendments added a fee of 0.95% and the ticker “LTCC” for its Canary Litecoin ETF and the ticker “HBR” for its Canary HBAR ETF, which Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said are “typically the last thing updated [before] go-time.”
He added that with the US government shut down and the Securities and Exchange Commission largely dark, it’s unknown when they’d be approved, but the filings “look pretty finalized to me.”
Meanwhile, ETF issuer Tuttle Capital filed for 60 new 3x ETFs, while GraniteShares submitted a batch of ETF applications holding a range of assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). ProShares also entered the fray with a slew of filings.
Balchunas said there are close to 250 ETF filings looking to give 3x leverage linked to cryptocurrencies and issuers’ “spaghetti cannon” so many at once because they “make good money.”