Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, in a eurozone first, Luxembourg’s sovereign wealth fund has allocated 1% of its $900 million portfolio, or about $9 million, into Bitcoin ETFs, veteran trader Peter Brandt says Bitcoin will either top this week or be set up for a “dramatic” surge, and the Bank of North Dakota announced plans to introduce its official stablecoin, the Roughrider Coin.Luxembourg sovereign wealth fund dips into Bitcoin ETFs with 1% stakeLuxembourg’s sovereign wealth fund has allocated 1% of its portfolio to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking one of the first such moves by a European state-backed investment entity.Luxembourg Director of the Treasury and Secretary General Bob Kieffer noted the investment in a Wednesday LinkedIn post. He said Finance Minister Gilles Roth had revealed the decision during his presentation of the 2026 Budget at the Chambre des Députés, Luxembourg’s legislature.“Recognizing the growing maturity of this new asset class, and underlining Luxembourg’s leadership in digital finance, this investment is an application of the FSIL’s new investment policy, which was approved by Government in July 2025,“ Kieffer said.Luxembourg’s Intergenerational Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSIL) has reportedly invested 1% of its holdings into Bitcoin ETF products. Considering the fund’s assets under management of about 764 million euros (almost $888 million) as of June 30, this is equivalent to a placement of about $9 million into Bitcoin ETFs.Bitcoin set for “dramatic” surge if it doesn’t top soon: Peter BrandtBitcoin is poised for unprecedented price discovery as long as it doesn’t peak within the next few days, according to veteran trader Peter Brandt.“It is reasonable to expect a bull market high any day now,” Brandt told Cointelegraph on Wednesday, citing Bitcoin’s (BTC) historical cycle pattern, which has played out in the three previous cycles.“These cycles from low-to-halving-to-high have not always been the same length, but the post-halving distance of each has always been equal to the pre-halving distance,” Brandt said. “Sooner or later, cycles change. But betting against a cycle that has a perfect three-for-three record should not be done with reckless abandon,” he said.Brandt said he is 50/50 on the outcome. “I will remain bullish, hopeful for counter-cyclicality. In this case, a move well beyond $150,000 would be my expectation, perhaps as high as $185,000,” Brandt said.North Dakota, Fiserv announce plan for state-backed “Roughrider” stablecoinThe 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.