News related to
much

By Nitya Chakraborty The Israel-Hamas peace deal announced by the US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in Washington is a welcome development, however limited it be at the moment as the agreement between the two warring parties is only for the first phase of Trump sponsored deal involving the release of all hostages by […]

The article Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal Is Welcome But The Follow Up Is Crucial For Enduring Peace appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Since its arrival in September 2025, the XPL token has drawn attention as the fulcrum of Plasma’s stablecoin-first blockchain vision. The network, engineered to process high-volume stablecoin transfers with minimal friction, stakes much on XPL’s design, distribution, and incentive architecture. A close look at how the token functions, how it has been received in markets, and what early ecosystem moves suggest reveals both promise and pitfalls.

XPL is conceived as the backbone of network security, transaction operations, and ecosystem growth. Under Plasma’s model, validators will stake XPL to secure the network under the PlasmaBFT consensus protocol, earning rewards in return. Meanwhile, the token also acts as the medium for executing non-basic transactions and participating in governance-like decisions tied to ecosystem programs. In that sense, XPL parallels Bitcoin’s role on the Bitcoin network and Ether’s role on Ethereum, though with nuances shaped by Plasma’s stablecoin orientation. The team states that its architecture deliberately ties token mechanics to campaign-driven incentives designed to migrate traditional financial flows onto its rails.

From a distribution perspective, Plasma launched with a fixed supply of 10 billion XPL. Ten percent was allocated to a public sale, while 40 percent was reserved for ecosystem and growth initiatives. At mainnet beta, 8 percent of the total supply was unlocked to support initial liquidity, partner incentives, and launch integrations. The remainder—particularly allocations for team, investors, and long-term contributors—follows graded vesting schedules to temper sudden sell pressure. In the public sale design, non-U. S. participants’ tokens were fully unlocked at launch, while U. S. participants face a 12-month lockup. This dual-track unlocking scheme aims to balance inclusion and capital discipline.

The tokenomics also include a built-in inflation schedule and fee mechanics intended to contain supply pressure. Initial validator rewards are targeted around 5 percent per annum, with planned reductions over time toward 3 percent baseline. Meanwhile, the protocol supports a form of fee burn inspired by EIP-1559; as transaction usage scales, some portion of fees will be removed from supply, offsetting inflation. The combined effect is intended to sustain staking incentives without runaway dilution. Another technical feature is Plasma’s “paymaster” system, which allows standard USDT transfers to carry zero fees, subsidized by the protocol itself. That mechanism reduces the necessity for every user to hold XPL merely to pay gas, lowering adoption friction.

Market reception to XPL turned dramatic almost immediately. At launch, the network held more than USD 2 billion in stablecoin liquidity across over 100 DeFi protocols. Within 24 hours of trading, XPL surged by over 50 percent in some reports—a mark of speculative demand meeting limited immediate circulating supply. Some early buyers from the public sale reportedly reaped significant multiples, even as Plasma distributed bonus tokens to pre-deposit participants regardless of purchase. At peak, XPL reportedly hit above USD 1.50 before retracing to levels around USD 0.90 to USD 1.10. Observers estimated its fully diluted value approaching USD 8–10 billion, reflecting soaring expectations baked into launch pricing.

Yet that market euphoria also exposes structural tensions. The disparity between circulating supply and total supply creates a potential “float risk”—many tokens locked under vesting may exert downward pressure as unlocks commence. The timing and pacing of those unlocks will test whether early demand can be sustained under growing supply. Furthermore, while the paymaster model reduces friction, it also transfers the burden of fee subsidies to the protocol’s reserves. If usage scales unpredictably, that subsidy cost could challenge sustainability unless fee revenue or ecosystem yield compensates.

Another variable is how decentralized and secure the validator structure becomes. The strength of PlasmaBFT relies on meaningful decentralization and active participation. If validator concentration remains high or slashing risks are unevenly applied, token holders may question whether XPL truly underpins a secure, trust-minimized system. The use of reward slashing somewhat mitigates direct capital loss risk, but critics argue it may weaken incentives for strict validator discipline.

Beyond core mechanics, XPL’s ecosystem deployment matters. Early integrations offer a glimpse: Plasma granted XPL funding to Clearpool to support PayFi, a stablecoin‐settled credit infrastructure. That move reflects a play to establish secondary use cases—credit rails, yield protocols, merchant flows—that could entrench XPL usage beyond staking and fees. Meanwhile, Binance’s announcement of a 75 million XPL airdrop tied to its HODLer program signals aggressive token distribution into retail investor hands. That distribution may expand user base but also risks speculative churn.

On the regulatory front, XPL must navigate emerging scrutiny. Since stablecoins straddle monetary and securities domain, a blockchain built entirely around them invites questions about oversight and compliance. To date, Plasma has employed jurisdictional filtering, KYC onboarding, and cautious distribution to U. S. investors, but scaling into global payments heightens exposure. If major jurisdictions impose stricter rules on stablecoin issuance or transfer, XPL’s value proposition may face constraints or require adaptation.

A Singapore High Court hearing is scheduled on 13 October 2025 to consider WazirX’s proposed Scheme of Arrangement, marking a pivotal moment in the embattled crypto exchange’s restructuring efforts. The court will hear further arguments on HC/SUM 940/2025, a case central to the platform’s ability to repay creditors and revive operations.

The hearing follows a tumultuous legal process. In June 2025, the court declined to sanction the original scheme submitted by Zettai Technologies, WazirX’s parent entity, citing structural concerns and ambiguities in how the proposal would address creditor claims. Zettai responded by seeking an opportunity for further arguments. The court acceded to that request, setting the stage for the October proceedings.

Prior to this hearing, the court has directed both Zettai and opposing parties to submit additional written submissions. Zettai filed on 26 September 2025, and the court issued further directions on 29 September requiring clarifications by 3 October 2025. Until now, no hearing date had been formally fixed.

The background to this process dates to July 2024, when WazirX suffered a cyberattack resulting in the loss of roughly $235 million. Nearly 16 million users were affected, with withdrawals and trading suspended indefinitely. The attack was widely attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

In January 2025, the Singapore High Court allowed users to vote on a restructuring plan. The vote concluded in March, with approximately 93.1% of users endorsing the scheme. However, in May, the court declined to give the scheme its sanction, stating the proposal failed to meet the required legal standards and flagged concerns over compliance with evolving Singapore regulations. Zettai was then directed to revise the scheme and conduct a revote.

In July 2025, after further oral arguments before the court, the original June decision was set aside and a revote was permitted to consider an amended Scheme. The court also extended the moratorium until 16 September 2025. Zettai responded by preparing an updated Scheme and explanatory statement, organising a town hall for creditors, and initiating a refreshed vote.

Analysts observe that the October hearing is likely to be decisive. If the court approves the amended plan, the process could move quickly toward fund distribution, theoretically within ten business days of the effective date. Should the court require further modifications or reject the proposal, the process could be delayed significantly, potentially pushing payouts into late 2025 or beyond.

Critically, the court has scrutinised how Indian law provisions intersect with its jurisdiction. Much of WazirX’s user base resides in India, prompting concerns about cross-border legal compliance and enforceability of creditor rights. By demanding detailed supplementary submissions, the court signals caution in approving a scheme that might expose it to legal vulnerabilities.

Creditors and industry watchers remain under strain, facing uncertainty over when and whether they will receive recovered funds. Many users have awaited payouts for more than a year, and confidence in centralised exchanges has been tested further by this case.

By Sushil Kutty Rare minerals included lots of ores, this was something we were taught in school and we learned about stone age, copper age and iron age, the last of which remains to this day the most basic of minerals, out of which was born steel and the term steely strength, like in ‘Superman […]

The article Pakistan Is The Dearest To Trump In Asia As Islamabad Exports Rare Earth Minerals appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

By Nitya Chakraborty Indian foreign policy makers have at last showing some mature understanding of the geopolitics of the post-Trump.2 months if the external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar’s observations at the concluding session of Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi on Sunday, are any indication. The minister was quite candid in explaining the complexity […]

The article EAM Jaishankar Is Right: Trump Has To Respect India’s Red Lines appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Strong demand and constrained inventory have pushed Dubai’s residential rents upward for several years. However, multiple indicators now suggest that 2026 will bring slower growth—perhaps even declines—in many segments of the market.

Headline figures already point to a deceleration. Yearly rental growth across residential properties in Dubai fell to about 8.5 percent by May 2025, down from 14.3 percent at the start of the year and 21.1 percent a year earlier. The long-term rental sector is under pressure as new supply enters the market: in the second quarter of 2025, long-term rental contracts fell 6.3 percent year on year, new contracts dropped nearly 8.9 percent, and overall rents declined 12.9 percent in quarterly comparison.

Analysts attribute the cooling largely to a surge in forthcoming housing supply. Some 150,000 new homes are expected to be completed between 2025 and 2027, representing a stock increase of nearly 20 percent in many parts of the market. Fitch Ratings projects residential property values could pull back by as much as 15 percent during late 2025 and into 2026, citing that the volume of handovers will likely outpace demand.

In the mid- and affordable segments, the impact may be most visible. Experts expect that communities with heavy handovers—such as Jumeirah Village Circle, Al Furjan, Dubai South, and surrounding areas—will experience downward pressure on asking rents. Nevertheless, prime areas like Downtown Dubai and Palm Jumeirah are forecast to continue seeing double-digit rent growth, buoyed by scarcity and sustained demand for luxury housing.

A tale of two markets is emerging. In central, premium sectors, landlords maintain leverage, while suburban and emergence zones will offer more negotiation room for tenants. Springfield Properties’ chief executive, Farooq Syed, observes that the large transaction volume and development pipeline into 2026 will provide tenants greater choice—especially in the apartment segment. Cushman & Wakefield Core’s head of research, Prathyusha Gurrapu, describes the trend as “clear signs of stabilisation,” especially outside the top-tier districts.

Beyond supply and demand dynamics, shifts are occurring in tenant preferences. Short-term and flexible lease arrangements continue to gain popularity, particularly among transient professionals and investors seeking yield. In Q2 2025, short-let occupancy remained strong—AirDXB, a key player in Dubai’s short-term rental market, achieved 90 percent occupancy compared to citywide averages around 63 percent. Technology trends are also creeping into real estate: blockchain-based platforms are being tested to automate rent payments and maintenance workflows.

On the investor side, yields remain attractive. Knight Frank reports residential yields are holding in the 5–7 percent range for apartments and 4.5–6 percent for villas and townhouses. But concerns are rising about overleveraged speculative investment, especially in lower-end segments. The Financial Times recently noted that many flippers—investors hoping to resell properties quickly for a profit—are already struggling to offload unfinished units as competition mounts.

Regulatory efforts may also temper volatility. Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency continues to push for transparency and consistent valuation practices, while the broader Dubai Land Department is moving toward digital registration and enhanced oversight. For tenants, the requirement to declare all occupants in Ejari contracts—an enforcement step introduced in 2025—tightens accountability in co-living arrangements.

Macro-economic fundamentals still support the market, albeit with caution. The emirate’s population passed 3.8 million in 2025, reflecting steady migration and growth—fuelling housing demand. Moreover, Dubai continues to attract global capital, drawn by tax benefits, infrastructure, economic diversification, and a relatively stable environment across the Gulf region.

Pressures are evident however. UBS’s 2025 index flagged Dubai at “bubble risk,” warning that rapid appreciation may not be sustainable without moderation. If large-scale oversupply hits the market at once, correction cycles may deepen in specific micro-markets.

World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture tied to Donald Trump’s family, has announced it will issue a debit card enabling users to spend digital assets as conventional currency, with a pilot slated next quarter and full deployment targeted by late 2025 or early 2026.

At Singapore’s TOKEN2049 conference, CEO Zach Witkoff stated that the underlying aim is to “bridge crypto assets with everyday spending,” forecasting that the card could go live in the fourth quarter or first quarter of 2026. Co-founder Donald Trump Jr. joined the presentation, underscoring the project’s ambition to integrate cryptocurrency more deeply into consumer payments.

Beyond payments, World Liberty is advancing a plan to tokenise real-world commodities, aiming to use blockchain infrastructure to trade assets like oil, gas, timber and cotton. Witkoff described these as “really interesting” domains for on-chain trading, pointing to what the company sees as excess transactional inefficiency in traditional markets. The firm also launched its governance token, WLFI, earlier this month, and has introduced USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by U. S. Treasuries and other cash equivalents to cut dependency on conventional banking rails.

World Liberty has secured a high-profile institutional backer: the UAE-based Aqua 1 Foundation invested USD 100 million in WLFI tokens, becoming the venture’s largest public investor. The strategic pact aims to fuel World Liberty’s expansion in South America, Europe and Asia, and to jointly incubate blockchain initiatives.

The governance token WLFI currently is non-transferable, granting holders voting rights rather than direct tradeability; World Liberty has said it is “working behind the scenes” to make WLFI transferable in the future. A large portion of WLFI’s supply remains held by the Trump family and affiliated entities.

The stablecoin USD1 gained traction after a major crypto exchange deal: World Liberty was among the early adopters when the funds backed by an Abu Dhabi entity were routed through USD1 to a major crypto platform, helping to elevate USD1’s market position in the stablecoin ecosystem.

Regulatory and ethical concerns already shadow the venture. Critics argue the project blurs lines between private enterprise and public office, noting that much of the Trump family’s wealth could become entangled with policy outcomes. Donald Trump Jr. has dismissed conflict-of-interest allegations as “complete nonsense,” but scrutiny over the convergence of politics and crypto is intensifying.

WLFI has exhibited wide volatility since launch, riding speculative momentum across global exchanges. Meanwhile, competing crypto card offerings already exist, with established fintechs and digital-asset platforms offering crypto-linked cards in partnership with Visa and Mastercard. Witkoff contends World Liberty’s version will differentiate through tighter integration with its stablecoin and tokenisation strategy.

Markets across the crypto derivatives space are on edge as Bitcoin and Ethereum options worth approximately $4.33 billion enter settlement today, setting the stage for heightened volatility in the near term.

On the Deribit platform, Bitcoin dominates the expiries, with about $3.5 billion notional value scheduled for settlement in roughly 30,200 contracts. Its put-to-call ratio stands at 1.23, suggesting more downside protection bets than bullish wagers. The so-called “max pain” level — the strike price at which the greatest number of contracts expire worthless — is pegged at $114,000, close to current trading levels and potentially acting as a magnet for price movement.

Ethereum’s portion comprises about $806.75 million, across 177,398 contracts, with a put-to-call ratio near 0.99, indicating a more balanced bias among traders. Its max pain is estimated at $4,500, just beneath recent market trading ranges.

Derivatives analysts caution that expiries of this size tend to exert short-term pressure on price behaviour, particularly as market makers and institutional actors roll, hedge or unwind positions ahead of settlement. In many past cycles, price action has gravitated toward max pain levels in the hours leading up to expiry.

Volatility expectations are reinforced by elevated implied volatility in both Bitcoin and Ethereum options markets. Some trading desks point to a compression of liquidity around strike clusters and warn that even modest directional flows may trigger outsized price swings.

Some market strategists argue that Bitcoin’s bearish tilt reflects growing hedging demand after price consolidation above major resistance zones. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s near-neutral PCR hints at structural hedging and profit-taking rather than outright directional bets.

Macro factors could amplify sensitivity. With markets digesting central bank policy signals, inflation indicators and equity market drift, crypto derivatives flows may act as a conduit for correlation shocks. That makes expiry day risk not purely technical but potentially reactive to broader sentiment shifts.

Earlier this month, a near-identical expiry event saw $4.3 billion in options settle, with BTC positioning yielding shortterm downside pressure and ETH holding more firmly near its pricing bands. That expiry foreshadowed a larger $18 billion BTC options expiry scheduled for 26 September, intensifying speculation on whether today’s event will prime momentum.

Market watchers are watching order-book depth near the $114,000 and $4,500 levels, as sharp absorption or rejection there may offer clues to directional bias post-expiry. In the absence of sustained trend breaks, much of the post-settlement period could hinge on whether institutions successfully reestablish exposure rather than exit.

Traders are also navigating strategy choices: rolling forward, closing positions, or rebalancing via delta hedges. The interplay of those flows may create forks in volatility—in which the first few hours post-expiry see directionless chop before a stronger move emerges.

Space42 has issued its Foresight Constellation Viewpoint, a strategic dossier that underscores how Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite systems, when paired with artificial intelligence, can reshape decision making for governments and industries. The viewpoint emphasises the capacity for persistent imaging, all-weather operation and near-instant analytics — capabilities that are becoming mission-critical in an era of intensifying climate, security and infrastructure challenges.

At the heart of the Viewpoint is GIQ, Space42’s AI engine that converts raw SAR data streams into decision-grade intelligence within minutes. The report argues that the combination of high-resolution persistent coverage and AI transforms Earth observation from static imagery into a dynamic intelligence layer for monitoring, planning and emergency response. Launching Foresight-1 in August 2024 and Foresight-2 in January 2025 has already bolstered the UAE’s Earth observation capability.

Space42 frames its approach as not just a technological upgrade, but a sovereign asset: reliance on third-party satellite data leaves states vulnerable to disruptions, but a domestic SAR-analytics ecosystem offers resilience and control. The global SAR market, currently estimated around $5.8 billion, is forecast to nearly double to $9.8 billion by 2030. According to the Viewpoint, deployment of integrated SAR systems can yield cost savings — for instance, reducing predictive maintenance expenses by up to 30 per cent while improving emergency response by as much as 90 per cent.

The technical backbone of this strategy depends on both the satellite constellation and ground systems. Space42 has entered into a joint venture with ICEYE to localise manufacturing of SAR satellites in the UAE, aiming to strengthen supply chains and transfer expertise. The joint venture builds on prior collaboration: ICEYE’s technology underpins the Foresight satellites, and cooperation is intended to deepen over coming years.

Foresight-2 was successfully deployed via a rideshare launch on 14 January 2025, expanding the constellation’s capabilities and reinforcing its ability to revisit areas multiple times per day. With Foresight-1 and 2 in orbit, the full constellation is expected by 2027. The satellites exploit SAR’s unique ability to image through clouds and in darkness — a significant advantage over optical systems, especially in disaster and high-latency environments.

The Viewpoint also positions its narrative with real-world scenarios. It cites the 2023 Turkey earthquake, in which optical systems were hindered by cloud cover, while SAR satellites continued functioning — enabling assessments of a major dam’s structural integrity in crisis conditions. That example supports the argument that SAR ecosystems must be treated not as supplements but as core infrastructure for resilience and security.

Space42 positions itself as a full-stack player: not merely a satellite operator but a systems integrator combining space services, geospatial analytics and AI. Its dual business units—Space Services and Smart Solutions—serve satellite operations and downstream intelligence markets respectively. Among its touted use cases are border surveillance, maritime monitoring, infrastructure health, mobility and disaster management.

Yet challenges remain. Building sovereign SAR ecosystems demands investment in ground infrastructure, antenna networks, data processing centres and skilled personnel. Market competition is increasing: global players—commercial and governmental—are accelerating developments in miniaturised SAR payloads, hybrid optical/SAR systems and edge AI processing. Moreover, the cost dynamics of deploying dense constellations must be managed against returns from clients in defence, environment and infrastructure sectors.