Crypto Morning Brief: Meteora opens airdrop claims, a16z invests $50 million in Jito

Author: TechFlow

Yesterday's Market Developments

Fed Governor Waller: Neutral rate is about 100 to 125 basis points lower than current federal funds rate

Fed Governor Waller: The neutral rate is approximately 100 to 125 basis points below the current federal funds rate. Inflation is not an obstacle to rate cuts.

Meteora opens MET airdrop claim portal

Solana-based liquidity protocol Meteora announced that the MET airdrop eligibility query is now live. The registration deadline for Liquidity Distributor NFTs is October 19, 2025, at 23:00. Users must claim their airdrop/NFT by April 23, 2026 (approximately six months).

Lighter CEO: Lighter may launch spot trading by end of October; community receives 50% of token airdrop

According to information compiled by community member Professor Satoshi (@satoshiheist), Vlad, CEO of decentralized exchange Lighter, revealed several key updates during an interview.

Vlad stated that spot trading will go live between late October and early November, with initial assets including ETH, BTC, and potentially WBTC. This will be followed by selected meme coins and partner tokens. Trading fees will be zero or extremely low.

On tokenomics, 25-30% of tokens will be allocated to Season 1 and Season 2 point airdrops, with the total community allocation reaching 50%. The Season 2 points campaign will continue until TGE, with points distributed weekly on Fridays. The token will have multiple utilities, including access to exclusive liquidity pools, market maker fee discounts, and potential staking capabilities.

ZEROBASE announces first-season ZBT token airdrop to begin tomorrow at 8 PM

According to ZEROBASE’s official announcement, the first-season ZBT token airdrop will officially commence at 20:00 UTC+8 on October 17.

This airdrop targets three user groups: Early adopters of ZEROBASE and participants in Galxe campaigns can claim from October 17 to December 31; unclaimed tokens after this period will be forfeited. Participants in Binance Wallet’s Booster program will receive distributions via Binance Wallet’s official rewards system.

The airdrop distribution plan shows that early adopters of ZEROBASE zero-knowledge staking—including participants in CoinList Beta launch, OKX Wallet events, and zero-knowledge staking pool—will receive 1.89% of the total supply. Galxe event participants (Guinness World Records challenge or earn-to-redeem ZBT campaigns) will receive 0.11%. Binance Wallet Booster program participants will receive 3%.

ZEROBASE stated it has taken a snapshot of all users’ ZBT points balances and reset displayed balances in preparation for Season 2.

Earlier reports indicated Binance will open ZBT trading on Binance Alpha at 19:00 Beijing time on October 17, 2025, and list the ZBTUSDT perpetual contract (with 50x leverage) at 19:30 Beijing time the same day.

Babylon Foundation launches Bonus airdrop checker tool, which will remain active for two weeks

According to an official announcement, Babylon Foundation has launched a Bonus airdrop checker tool, which will operate for two weeks. This Bonus airdrop includes 200 million BABY tokens, along with retroactive Genesis airdrops for users who previously missed out.

Jupiter to initiate governance vote on whether to burn 121 million repurchased JUP tokens

Market sources report that Jupiter will launch a critical governance vote to determine whether to burn 121 million JUP tokens already repurchased.

CZ hints at potential return to Meme coins via social media post

A community member posted on X: "If you don't hold meme coins, you're not truly crypto-native." CZ responded: "Damn, I need to get on with the program then..."

Binance completes acquisition of Korean exchange Gopax, paving way for return to Korean market

According to The Block, Binance has completed its acquisition of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax.

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit approved Gopax’s key executive change application on Wednesday, more than two years after it was initially submitted in February 2023. Binance previously acquired a 67% majority stake in Gopax in 2023, but full control faced regulatory delays due to concerns over potential anti-money laundering risks.

BlackRock officially launches money market fund BSTBL compliant with GENIUS Act

According to Businesswire, BlackRock announced the official launch of the BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL), a money market fund compliant with the GENIUS Act. This fund can serve as reserve assets for payment stablecoin issuers. Proposed investment strategies include incorporating overnight repo agreements into eligible assets and shortening maturities of U.S. Treasury instruments. Additionally, the fund will extend its trading cutoff time from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time, offering greater investment opportunities.

Coinbase launches stablecoin payment platform "Coinbase Business"

According to CoinDesk, U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced on October 16 the launch of its stablecoin payment platform "Coinbase Business," enabling businesses to send and receive USDC. Key features include:

• Streamlined vendor payments with eliminated refund risks

• Seamless API integration for efficient business scaling

• 4.1% annual yield on USDC balances

• Support for wire transfers or ACH withdrawals to corporate bank accounts at any time

• Transaction data sync with QuickBooks or Xero via CoinTracker

Ripple acquires treasury management leader GTreasury for $1 billion

According to an official announcement, Ripple announced on October 16, 2025, the acquisition of GTreasury, a global leader in treasury management systems, for $1 billion, marking its formal entry into the multi-trillion-dollar enterprise treasury market. This is Ripple’s third major acquisition this year, combining Ripple’s digital asset infrastructure with GTreasury’s four-decade expertise in treasury management to offer corporate clients innovative solutions such as real-time cross-border payments and idle capital activation. GTreasury currently serves over 1,000 clients across more than 160 countries. The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, pending regulatory approval.

a16z invests $50 million in Jito

According to Fortune, Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division has invested $50 million in Solana staking protocol Jito.

Market Movements

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