Ripple has decided against pursuing an initial public offering despite a favorable outcome in its legal battle with the SEC. President Monica Long stated that the company is "well capitalized" and has no immediate plans to go public. Meanwhile, Jan3 CEO Samson Mow expressed skepticism about the start of a Bitcoin bull run, noting that Bitcoin is only "marginally outperforming inflation" as its price falls below $100,000. In other news, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the FBI cannot be sued for erasing a hard drive containing 3,443 Bitcoin, valued at $345 million, from a man convicted of identity theft. Additionally, privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash ($ZEC) has surpassed $500 for the first time since 2018, fueled by endorsements from industry leaders advocating for privacy benefits. Research from Columbia University has accused Polymarket of significant artificial trading, revealing that 25% of its volume over three years was wash trading. In regulatory developments, the CFTC is preparing to introduce leveraged spot crypto trading on U.S. exchanges, potentially launching next month. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement to end the government shutdown.