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SoftBank Eyes $100B Gulf Investment for AI-Driven Buyout Fund

SoftBank seeks substantial Gulf investment to create a fund focused on AI-enhanced business acquisitions.

SoftBank seeks substantial Gulf investment to create a fund focused on AI-enhanced business acquisitions. XRP (XRP) is trading at $1.40. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 2 outlets (Cryptopolitan, Crypto.news), plus live market data, as of Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:30:01 UTC.

Why it matters

This development signifies a strategic shift for SoftBank towards AI implementation rather than AI technology development, potentially reshaping its investment focus and influencing market dynamics in AI-driven sectors.

Covered by 2 outlets over about 2 days — Token Times synthesises them all into one brief
  1. Cryptopolitan
    SoftBank seeks up to $100B from Gulf investors for AI buyout fund ↗
  2. Crypto.news
    XRP Ledger confirms 100B supply is safe after major security flaw ↗
Key takeaways
  • SoftBank aims to raise up to $100B from Gulf investors for an AI-focused buyout fund.
  • The fund would prioritize using AI to enhance business performance over investing in AI tech development.
  • XRP Ledger resolved a critical bug that could have minted 18 trillion XRP.
What the reporting agrees on

Cryptopolitan and Crypto.news both report SoftBank's plan to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf investors for an AI-driven buyout fund, marking a strategic shift towards AI implementation. However, Crypto.news also covers a separate development regarding the XRP Ledger, where researchers earned a $250K bounty for fixing a bug that could have minted 18 trillion XRP, with no evidence of public exploitation. This discrepancy highlights that the outlets are reporting on distinct, albeit potentially relevant, topics.

SoftBank, under the leadership of CEO Masayoshi Son, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf investors to establish a fund focused on acquiring businesses and leveraging AI to enhance their performance. This initiative marks a strategic pivot for SoftBank, moving away from investing in AI technology development and towards the practical application of AI in business operations.

The proposed fund underscores SoftBank's ambition to harness AI's transformative potential across various industries. By focusing on AI implementation rather than development, SoftBank aims to capitalize on the technology's ability to optimize and innovate business processes, potentially driving significant value for acquired companies.

In a separate development, the XRP Ledger recently addressed a critical bug that had the potential to mint 18 trillion XRP, as reported by Crypto.news. Researchers who discovered and reported the bug were awarded a $250K bounty. The XRP Ledger team confirmed that there was no evidence of the bug being exploited publicly, highlighting the importance of ongoing security measures in blockchain technology.

The total cryptocurrency market cap currently stands at $2.9 trillion, with Bitcoin showing a modest 24-hour gain of 0.54%. The market remains relatively stable, with a Fear & Greed index of 69, indicating a sentiment of 'Greed'. XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, is trading at $1.4, up 0.89% in the last 24 hours but down 7.10% over the past week, with a market cap of $88.52 billion.

The SoftBank initiative, if realized, could have significant implications for the AI and business acquisition landscapes, potentially driving increased investment and innovation in AI-driven sectors. Meanwhile, the resolution of the XRP Ledger bug reinforces the importance of robust security protocols in blockchain technology, which is crucial for maintaining trust and stability in the cryptocurrency market.

Market reaction since this brief Live

Since this brief published about 3 days ago, XRP (XRP) has moved from $1.40 to $1.40 — +0.00%.

$1.37$1.39$1.40$1.41$1.43 published · $1.40 now · $1.40 (+0.00%) Oct 9 23:24 UTC Oct 12 12:30 UTC
BeforeSince publishPublished · $1.40

The chart plots XRP's price: grey is the move before this brief published, the vertical dashed line marks the moment it published, the horizontal dashed line is the price then, and the coloured area is the move since — from Token Times's market data (daily resolution). It shows what happened after the news, not that the news caused it; many factors move prices. Not financial advice.

What this means in rupee

At today's peer-to-peer rate, 1 XRP ≈ ₹144.9 (about $1.40), up 0.2% over 24 hours. The rupee itself trades about 6.7% above the official rate on the P2P market, so a Indian buyer's effective cost differs from the headline dollar price.

Live market data

Current prices for the asset in this story — live, source-stamped, updated every 15 minutes.

XRP
#5
$1.40 ▲ 0.25%
7d -7.98%MCap $88.20BFull XRP data →
The market when this published · October 9, 2026
Total market cap$2.90T
Bitcoin 24h+0.54%
Ethereum 24h+2.11%
BTC dominance57.9%
Fear & Greed69 · Greed

SoftBank Eyes $100B Gulf Investment for AI-Driven Buyout Fun — questions & answers

What is SoftBank's new investment strategy?

SoftBank plans to raise up to $100B from Gulf investors for an AI-focused buyout fund, prioritizing AI implementation over technology development.

What bug was fixed in the XRP Ledger?

The XRP Ledger fixed a bug that could have minted 18 trillion XRP, with researchers earning a $250K bounty.

How is the overall cryptocurrency market performing?

The total crypto market cap is $2.9T, with Bitcoin up 0.54% in 24 hours and the Fear & Greed index at 69.

How much is 1 XRP worth in rupee today?

About ₹144.9 at the live peer-to-peer (P2P) USDT rate, which is what Indians typically trade at — equivalent to roughly $1.40. The rupee price moves with both XRP's US-dollar price and the USDT/INR rate; use our XRP in rupee page for any amount.

Which outlets reported this story?

This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Cryptopolitan, Crypto.news, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.

Token Times Newsdesk Data-stamped

Token Times's newsdesk writes original briefs by synthesising coverage from across the crypto press — 50+ outlets including CoinDesk, The Block, Decrypt and Cointelegraph — cross-checking the figures they report — and verifying them against on-chain data from DeFiLlama and mempool.space — plus live market context (CoinGecko, Binance). We summarise and link to every source; we never reproduce full articles. Read our editorial standards and how we use AI. Not financial advice.

Market data verified against CoinGecko & Binance · October 12, 2026 ⛓ Timestamped at Bitcoin block #971,084 sha256:905b1f5799d10519
Corroborated across 2 outlets, reported over about 2 days — this is an original Token Times summary with live market data, not the original article.Cryptopolitan · Oct 9 23:24 ↗Crypto.news · Oct 12 04:30 ↗

Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.