Enterprise blockchain company Ripple has minted an additional 10 million tokens, according to the most recent data. 

This is the first minting event that has been recorded so far during September. 

Prior to this, Ripple issued an additional 15 million tokens on Aug. 29. 

Last August, the company minted a total of 60 million tokens, with the vast majority of these tokens being launched on the Ethereum network. At the same time, 20 million RLUSD tokens were burned (permanently removed from circulation) during the same period of time, meaning that there were an additional 40 million RLUSD tokens. 

$700 million milestone 

According to CoinGecko data, the market cap of RLUSD currently stands at $711 million. 

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It took Ripple a little over a month to add an additional 200 million tokens. As reported by U.Today, the highly regulated stablecoin, which was initially launched in December, managed to surpass $500 million in total assets in late July. 

Top 5 remains out of reach 

As reported by U.Today, Ripple executives have repeatedly stated that they had aimed to reach the top 5 of the biggest stablecoins by the end of the current year. 

However, this target remains far-fetched for the stablecoin despite Ripple’s latest minting spree. 

RLUSD is on track to record PAX Gold (PAXG), which currently has a market cap of $1 billion. 

Ripple’s stablecoin will also have to catch up with PayPal’s PYUSD, which currently boasts a market cap of nearly $1.2 billion. 

After this, RLUSD would have to surpass six more stablecoins in order to break into the top 5, which does not seem feasible in 2025. 

Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, minted an additional $2 billion USDT on July 16 on the Ethereum blockchain.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the mint via a post on X, clarifying that the new mints were an “inventory replenish” on Ethereum. This means the funds serve as inventory for future issuance and blockchain swaps, rather than entering circulation immediately.

Of the newly minted supply, $1 billion was sent directly to Binance, the largest global crypto exchange by trading volume.

This transaction suggests that trading activity across crypto markets intensified, especially following Bitcoin’s new all-time high above $120,000.

USDT plays a critical role in the crypto ecosystem by providing liquidity and trading stability across centralized and decentralized platforms. According to company data, Tether has issued $4.4 billion in USDT in the past month alone.

Tether’s USDT supply crosses $160 million

The latest minting spree has driven Tether’s total market capitalization to an all-time high above $160 billion.

Ardoino hailed the milestone as a testament to USDT’s real-world utility, especially in emerging and developing markets.

According to him:

“[This is] a new mind-blowing milestone, a statement of the unrivaled utility of USDt as the digital dollar for billions of people living in emerging markets and developing countries.”

According to the company’s figures, Tether has issued more than $74 billion in USDT on Ethereum and $81 billion on Tron. It also holds smaller but growing footprints on other chains, including $2 billion on Solana, $530 million on TON, and $480 million on Avalanche.

Meanwhile, the stablecoin company emphasized that its issued tokens remain fully backed.

In Q2 2025, Tether reported having over $127 billion in exposure to US Treasurys. This includes direct holdings, indirect exposure via money market funds, and reverse repo agreements.

This means if Tether were a country, it would rank as the 18th-largest holder of US government debt.

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A security incident has shaken the ZKsync layer-2 network: on April 15, a compromised admin account led to the minting of roughly $5 million worth of unclaimed airdrop tokens. Although user funds remain untouched, the event highlights how leftover airdrop allocations can become a target for bad actors if not properly secured.

Unclaimed Airdrop Tokens Targeted

ZKsync originally airdropped 3.6 billion ZK tokens in June 2024 to reward early adopters of ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite. Despite this extensive distribution, millions of tokens—amounting to nearly $5 million—remained unclaimed. These tokens resided in three smart contracts overseen by an admin account, which was compromised.

According to ZKsync’s statement, the attacker called a function named sweepUnclaimed() on the airdrop contract, thereby minting 111 million ZK tokens. This move effectively boosted the circulating supply by around 0.45% of a total fixed supply of 21 billion tokens.

The function existed to allow recovery of unclaimed tokens after the claim period but was gated behind admin-only access—an access point that was exploited once the admin key was compromised.

While $5 million is relatively modest compared to the broader crypto space, any unauthorized minting raises concerns about contract security and leftover token handling.

Scope of the Incident

ZKsync emphasizes that this hack was isolated to the airdrop contract and did not affect user wallets or the main ZK token contract. The governance framework and protocol itself remain intact, with no vulnerabilities reported beyond the compromised admin key. Additionally, ZKsync has assured the public that no further exploits are possible through the sweepUnclaimed() function, as the attacker has already taken all mintable tokens.

Still, the situation has reignited debate about contract design and admin key security. Best practices—such as using multisig wallets for critical admin functions, implementing time-locked operations, or designing contracts with immutable parameters—might have mitigated or prevented the breach.

Nevertheless, the incident sparked price volatility. At one point on April 15, ZK’s value had slid 16% to $0.040, though it later rebounded to around $0.047. Still, the token remains down approximately 7% over the past 24 hours, reflecting ongoing market wariness following the hack’s disclosure.

History of the Airdrop

ZKsync’s airdrop in 2024 was significant, allocating a considerable supply of tokens as a reward for ecosystem participants. Users who contributed to ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite received varying amounts of ZK based on their activity, but a portion stayed unclaimed. These unclaimed tokens ended up centralized under three distribution contracts, ultimately making them a high-value prize for anyone who managed to breach the admin account’s security.

Response and Recovery Efforts

In a move to protect against further damage, ZKsync has enlisted the help of the Security Alliance (SEAL). The attacker’s wallet—containing most of the newly minted tokens—remains closely monitored, and ZKsync has publicly requested that the individual reach out to negotiate the return of funds. If that fails, the company could seek legal channels to address the theft.

ZKsync stresses that the rest of its architecture—including governance mechanisms, bridging components, and token supplies—remains secure. The protocol also claims that leftover vulnerabilities from the compromised admin key have been neutralized and that no additional user-facing security measures are needed at this time.

Looking Forward

While the hack did not involve user deposits or core protocol infrastructure, it raises questions about how leftover airdrop tokens are stored and secured. Distributing tokens to community members can be an effective way to reward early participation, but unclaimed portions may become a single point of failure if they are controlled by one privileged account.

ZKsync’s quick response and transparent communication have helped contain the issue. However, it remains to be seen whether the attacker will willingly return the stolen tokens. As the network continues to grow—it currently has $57.3 million in total value locked, according to DefiLlama—users and developers alike will watch closely to see what additional security measures ZKsync implements to prevent future admin key compromises.

Good Vibes Club (GVC), an art-focused NFT collection created by the award-winning animation studio Toast, has officially sold out ahead of its much-anticipated reveal on March 13 at 12PM ET. The collection, which minted on March 11 on Ethereum, consists of 6,969 meticulously crafted 3D PFPs.

Developed over three years, GVC has positioned itself as a premium brand within the NFT space, prioritising high-quality visuals and artistic curation.

With minting complete, attention now shifts to the upcoming reveal, where holders will see the unique traits and attributes of their NFTs. Meanwhile, secondary market activity continues to gain momentum, with GVC NFTs now available for trading on OpenSea, Magic Eden, and Blur.

What is Good Vibes Club NFT Collection?

Good Vibes Club is a high-end digital art project dedicated to setting a new standard in the NFT space. Created by Toast, a renowned animation studio that has worked with major brands such as Meta, Google, Apple, Visa, Amex, Oreo, and Microsoft, the project blends cutting-edge 3D animation with web3 innovation.

The collection was in development for over three years, with the team rendering 25,000 images, crafting 11,000 unique 3D objects, and designing over 700 traits to ensure each NFT maintains a curated and distinctive feel. According to the team, every detail—including colour groupings, materials, and silhouette diversity—was meticulously planned to enhance the visual quality and uniqueness of the collection.

In addition to the main collection, GVC has introduced three ultra-rare “Honorary Sculptures,” which grant holders a 1:1 custom honorary PFP created live on stream. These honorary NFTs will be featured in SuperRare’s official collection, adding another layer of exclusivity to the project.

What’s next for Good Vibes Club?

With the collection officially minted, the next major event for Good Vibes Club is the reveal on March 13, when collectors will discover the full details of their NFTs. Post-reveal, trading activity is expected to increase as buyers assess rarity traits and visual appeal.

Beyond the PFP collection, the team has teased the development of “Vibetown,” a digital world where GVC characters will come to life through animation. Whilst details remain limited, the team describes Vibetown as a place where “it’s always sunny, it never gets below 75°F” with “some funky beats bumpin’ in the streets.”

As of writing, the floor price for GVC stands at approximately 0.14 $ETH ($270), with sustained demand on secondary marketplaces.