North Dakota launches Roughrider, Bitcoin surge ahead
Today in crypto, veteran trader Peter Brandt says Bitcoin will either top this week or be set up for a “dramatic” surge. The Bank of North Dakota announced plans to introduce its official stablecoin, the Roughrider Coin. Meanwhile, BNB Chain traders are cashing in as new memecoins surge in value.
Bitcoin set for ‘dramatic’ surge if it doesn’t top soon: Peter Brandt
Bitcoin 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’ stablecoin
The 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.
BNB Chain memecoins mint new millionaires in wild trading week
Cryptocurrency traders made millions of dollars on small-cap memecoins on the BNB Chain over the past week, signaling a renewed wave of speculative capital fueling the current market cycle.
Among the most profitable investors is trader “0xd0a2,” who turned an initial investment of $3,500 into $7.9 million, generating a 2,260-fold return in three days, according to blockchain intelligence platform Lookonchain.
Trader “hexiecs” turned a $360,000 investment into over $5.5 million by investing in the recently launched “4” memecoin, which went parabolic after an X post from Binance co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
Other speculators also jumped on the token, including trader “brc20niubi,” who turned a $730,000 investment into $5.4 million, printing a 1,200-fold return on investment, according to Lookonchain.
The activity followed a trade earlier in the week when the wallet “0x872” netted nearly $2 million in profits within hours after investing just $3,000 in the 4 token. The trader achieved a 650-fold return after Zhao reshared a post about the token to his 8.9 million X followers on Oct. 1.
