Avalanche news

Avalanche's tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) reached approximately $1.73 billion as of October 12, 2026, according to a Blockworks Q3 report. Tokenized US Treasuries totaled $545 million, up 14% quarter-over-quarter and fourfold over the year. BlackRock's BUIDL fund, the largest in this category, saw its holdings on the network drop from about $907 million in mid-July to roughly $483 million by early October due to redemptions and institutional minting flows. Payments firm Axiym processed a record $529 million in stablecoin payments during Q3, pushing its lifetime volume past $2 billion with 4.4x year-over-year growth. Avalanche's broader $11 billion RWA figure includes a non-circulating copper-gold token, making the distributed $1.73 billion figure more representative of actual market activity. The network's institutional appeal centers on fast finality and flexible regulatory compliance, though its RWA totals remain sensitive to decisions by a few large clients.

Avalanche has gained access to over 2 million users across 180+ countries through an integration with the self-custody wallet Zengo, announced on November 4, 2026. Users can now buy, sell, swap, send, and receive AVAX and related assets on both iOS and Android. Zengo uses multi-party computation (MPC) instead of seed phrases, with biometric authentication and a zero-hack record. This expansion follows eToro's acquisition of Zengo for approximately $70 million in April 2026, which marked eToro's push into self-custody crypto. Zengo continues to operate independently while integrating with eToro. The wallet already supports Solana and Chiliz Chain, and has exclusive fiat conversion partnerships with MoonPay. The integration provides Avalanche with a large user base already familiar with self-custody, reducing friction for adopting the network. It also reflects a broader trend of self-custody going mainstream, as major financial platforms like eToro invest in such products. However, MPC wallets shift trust to provider architecture, making Zengo's security record crucial as its user base grows.

Japanese tech firm NEC and Ava Labs have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a biometric identity verification system paired with stablecoin payments on the Avalanche blockchain. The proposed framework, outlined in a whitepaper, uses NEC's FaceVC solution to keep raw biometric data off-chain in users' wallets, with only verification proofs and minimal transaction data recorded on-chain. The architecture leverages Avalanche's multi-chain design across three networks: a permissioned Layer 1 for identity registration and revocation, a dedicated payment chain called SETTL for stablecoin transactions, and the public C-Chain for rewards and loyalty tokens. The initial use case targets inbound tourists in Japan, who would complete identity verification and payments with a single approval. The partnership is in an exploratory phase with no launch yet. Potential applications beyond tourism include financial identity checks, AI agent authentication, and cross-border services. Japan's 42.68 million inbound visitors in 2025 and its Payment Services Act, which supports stablecoins as electronic payment instruments, provide a conducive backdrop.

Aave has frozen its Avalanche lending markets to prevent a suspected Binance hacker from using stolen AVAX as collateral. The move follows an apparent unauthorized outflow of around $3.3 billion from Binance hot wallets, with 1.81 million AVAX and 8.4 million USDT linked to the incident on Avalanche. Tether, which froze about $1.5 billion, and Circle, which froze about $823 million, have also blocked assets tied to the hack. Aave has used similar precautionary freezes before, most recently in April 2026 during the KelpDAO exploit, reporting no direct losses. The freeze aims to protect liquidity providers from bad debt if tainted collateral were used. While likely inconveniencing some Avalanche users, Aave views it as a temporary pause versus potential losses. The incident has also revived the debate over decentralized finance's permissionless claims, as its major players can and do intervene in crises.

Japan Tax Free, JPYC, and UPBOND are building a system to send eligible traveler tax refunds to wallets on Avalanche C-Chain, using JPYC, a yen-pegged stablecoin. The service is set to launch on November 1, 2026, and will settle all transactions on Avalanche's smart contract layer. Travelers with compatible wallets can use them, while those without can set one up through UPBOND. Merchants will not handle customers' financial data under the planned setup. The JPYC launch coincides with Japan's shift to a "refund-upon-departure" model for tax-free shopping, where tourists pay full price and receive refunds after customs verification at departure, within a 90-day limit. The partners cite efficiency, lower fees, and stronger anti-money laundering compliance as goals, leveraging blockchain's permanent transaction records. JPYC is officially recognized as an electronic payment instrument under Japan's Payment Services Act, a key factor in its adoption for this mainstream use.

Dinari has expanded its tokenized equities platform, dShares, to Avalanche's C-Chain, offering eligible non-US investors access to over 350 tokenized US stocks, ETFs, and REITs. Each dShare is backed 1:1 by securities in regulated custody, granting holders rights to dividends and corporate actions. The move aims to enable 24/7 trading of American assets across 85+ countries, leveraging Avalanche's low costs and high throughput. The expansion builds on Dinari's DFN Layer 1, launched in August 2025, with validators including Gemini, BitGo, and VanEck. At the time, Avalanche's tokenized asset ecosystem surpassed $1.6 billion, with monthly transfers around $473 million. While the C-Chain offering is limited to non-US investors, Dinari has added high-profile assets like tokenized SpaceX shares. The initiative aims to reduce barriers for global investors, though US access remains a future goal.

Ethena Pay has launched Earn+, a new vault on the Avalanche blockchain offering eligible users higher target yields. The feature builds on the self-custodial payments and savings app, which holds balances in the synthetic dollar USDe and offers tiered APYs up to 6%, with cashback in AVAX and a virtual Visa card. Early access is limited to about 400 users in 48 countries, excluding the US, EU, UK, and Canada. Earn+ targets existing users seeking potentially higher returns, though target yields are not guaranteed and depend on underlying strategy performance. The vault deepens Ethena's push to mainstream USDe, while the tier structure incentivizes locking ENA for better rates. For Avalanche, it showcases the network's role in payments and rewards. Expansion into regulated markets remains a key test.

Lynq and ZeroBeta have integrated institutional borrowing and trading margin with tokenized U.S. Treasuries on Avalanche, allowing eligible pledged holdings to keep earning interest. The integration uses Lynq's settlement network and ZeroBeta's BlueShift risk platform, which manages collateral requirements and instructs asset pledges, top-ups, or releases. Lynq reports over $89 million in platform assets and more than 40 institutional firms onboarded, though no initial users or pledged collateral values were disclosed. The announcement highlights a growing trend of using tokenized Treasuries as yield-bearing collateral in lending and repo markets, as seen with recent Aave and BNY initiatives.

Grayscale has enabled in-kind investing across ten of its crypto ETPs, allowing eligible digital assets to be swapped directly for fund shares without first converting to cash. The change, effective October 21, 2026, applies to products including the Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF, Dogecoin Trust ETF, Avalanche Staking ETF, and Zcash ETF. The shift follows the SEC's July 2025 approval of in-kind creation and redemption for spot crypto ETPs. Grayscale had to amend agreements with trading firms like Jane Street and Virtu, as well as custodians, to implement the mechanism. In-kind transfers can lower execution costs and help keep share prices aligned with underlying asset values. Grayscale aims to stay competitive as in-kind capability becomes standard in the market.

Janus Henderson, a roughly $500 billion asset manager, is positioning itself as a technology-forward firm by becoming an active validator on the Avalanche blockchain and taking an equity stake in onchain credit platform Tranched. The announcement, made on September 16, 2026, was discussed by Head of Innovation Nick Cherney on October 19. Tranched manages $300 million in assets with a pipeline exceeding $3 billion, and Janus Henderson will provide anchor capital for its issuances. The firm's tokenized products, including the Anemoy AAA CLO Fund (JAAA) with about $690 million in assets and the Treasury Fund (JTRSY), have been deployed on Avalanche since 2024-2025. A $250 million Grove-led program boosting these funds doubled Avalanche's real-world asset footprint. While the validator role and investments signal credibility for Avalanche and Tranched, analysts note risks in operational responsibilities and potential conflicts of interest, and the scale remains small relative to Janus Henderson's overall balance sheet.