Crypto Week Ahead: ENA Unlock, Glamsterdam Test, RBI and Fed
Crypto dates for 5 to 11 October 2026 in IST: the Ethena unlock, the Glamsterdam Sepolia fork, the RBI rate decision, Fed minutes and XRP Ledger upgrades.
The week of 5 to 11 October 2026 brings a large token unlock on Monday, Ethereum's first public test of its Glamsterdam upgrade on Tuesday, and a double dose of central bank news on Wednesday, when the Reserve Bank of India announces its rate decision and the US Federal Reserve publishes the minutes of its September meeting. Bitcoin starts the week near $85,000 (about ₹81.8 lakh) after a choppy Friday. All times below are in IST.
Key takeaways
- Mon 5 Oct: Ethena releases all remaining investor tokens, and StablecoinX's ENA lock-up ends.
- Tue 6 Oct: Glamsterdam goes live on the Sepolia testnet at 7:23 pm IST. Mainnet is not affected.
- Wed 7 Oct: RBI policy decision in the morning, Fed minutes at 11:30 pm IST, and Hyperliquid Labs' 3.75 million HYPE OTC transfer.
- Thu 8 and Fri 9 Oct: three XRP Ledger upgrades are due, including Batch transactions.
- Next week: US inflation data on 14 October, two weeks before the Fed's next decision.
The week at a glance
| Date | Event | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 5 Oct | Ethena (ENA) investor unlock; StablecoinX lock-up ends | During the day |
| Mon 5 Oct | RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting begins | Runs to 7 Oct |
| Tue 6 Oct | Glamsterdam fork on Ethereum's Sepolia testnet | 7:23 pm |
| Wed 7 Oct | RBI repo rate decision | Usually 10:00 am |
| Wed 7 Oct | 3.75 million HYPE leave Hyperliquid Labs' unstaking queue | During the day |
| Wed 7 Oct | Minutes of the Fed's 15 to 16 September meeting | 11:30 pm |
| Thu 8 Oct | Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks | 7:30 pm |
| Fri 9 Oct | XRP Ledger: PermissionDelegation (early hours), then fixBatch and Batch | About 2:55 am, 7:42 pm and 8:16 pm |
| Fri 9 Oct | Weekly bitcoin and ether options expiry | 1:30 pm |
Monday, 5 October: Ethena's unlock
The Ethena Foundation has pulled all remaining original investor tranches, which were due monthly until March 2028, into one release. Under the old schedule that comes to about 1.4 billion ENA, or roughly 14% of the supply in circulation, although the Foundation has already bought part of it back from early investors. On the same day the lock-up ends on about 3.03 billion ENA held by the Nasdaq-listed company StablecoinX, whose sales still need the Foundation's consent. ENA slipped about 6% on Saturday. Live price: Ethena price in INR. Background: what a token unlock is.
Tuesday, 6 October: Glamsterdam on Sepolia
Ethereum's next major upgrade activates on the Sepolia test network at 13:53:36 UTC (7:23 pm IST). It brings block-level access lists, which let nodes process transactions in parallel, and enshrined proposer-builder separation. Client teams have published Sepolia-ready software. A smooth fork would keep mainnet on track for the fourth quarter; the Ethereum Foundation says no mainnet date is confirmed yet. Full details in our Glamsterdam explainer. Ether is at ₹259,145.
Wednesday, 7 October: RBI and the Fed on the same day
The RBI decision. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee meets from 5 to 7 October. The repo rate has been held at 5.25% at the last four reviews, after cuts totalling 1.25 percentage points in 2025. Retail inflation rose to 4.82% in August from 4.45% in July, above the RBI's 4% target, and economists are split between a hold and a quarter-point rise to 5.50%. Crypto is not regulated by the RBI, but its decisions move the rupee. At about $84,900 per bitcoin, a rupee at ₹96.4 per dollar gives about ₹81.8 lakh; at ₹95.4 the same bitcoin would be about ₹81 lakh. Follow the rate on our USD to INR page.
The Fed minutes. At its 15 to 16 September meeting the Fed raised its target range by a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00%, by a 12 to 0 vote. The minutes, out at 2:00 pm New York time (11:30 pm IST), will show how many officials want to go further at the 27 to 28 October meeting. Hints of another rise would weigh on crypto; signs of a pause would help.
HYPE transfer. The 3.75 million HYPE that Hyperliquid Labs began unstaking last week become movable after the seven-day wait. The team says they go to one institutional buyer in an OTC deal, not onto exchanges. See our report on the HYPE OTC deal.
Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October: XRP Ledger upgrades
Three amendments are scheduled, provided validator support stays above 80%. PermissionDelegation, which lets an account hand specific powers to another without sharing keys, is due around 21:25 UTC on 8 October (about 2:55 am IST on 9 October). A security fix, fixBatchV1_2, follows at about 14:12 UTC on 9 October, then Batch, which bundles up to eight transactions into one, at about 14:46 UTC (8:16 pm IST). Node operators need server version 3.4.1. Background: why Batch was delayed. XRP is at ₹142.57 on our XRP price in INR page.
Friday also brings the usual weekly options expiry at 08:00 UTC (1:30 pm IST); see BTC expiry times in India, and for dated futures, our guide to crypto futures expiry times.
Looking further ahead
- US inflation: September consumer price data is scheduled for 14 October at 6:00 pm IST, two weeks before the Fed's 27 to 28 October decision.
- Bitcoin levels: Friday's high near $87,000 is the level buyers need to retake; the past week's lows near $83,000 are the first support. Track it on our Bitcoin price in INR page.
FAQ
When is the RBI policy announcement in October 2026?
On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, at the end of the 5 to 7 October meeting. The governor usually announces the decision at 10:00 am IST.
What time does Glamsterdam go live on Sepolia in India?
At 7:23 pm IST on Tuesday, 6 October 2026 (13:53:36 UTC). It is a testnet fork; Ethereum mainnet is not affected.
What time are the Fed minutes released in India?
At 11:30 pm IST on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, which is 2:00 pm in New York.
This article is AI-assisted, educational and general in nature. It is not financial advice and never a guarantee of profit. Every trade is at your own risk on your own exchange. See our risk disclosure and editorial policy.
