Из жизни альткоинов

According to a recent report, the United Kingdom tax authority has sent out tens of thousands of “nudge letters” to individuals suspected of owing or underreporting taxes on their crypto asset gains. This move reflects the increased tax scrutiny of cryptocurrency investors around the world over the past year.

UK Tax Regulator To Obtain User Data From Global Exchanges Starting 2026

In an October 17 report, Financial Times (FT) revealed that UK’s tax authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) sent approximately 65,000 letters to digital asset holders suspected of evading taxes on their gains. These letters, officially known as “nudge letters,” are written to ask investors to correct their tax filings before formal investigations take place.

This figure, which represents a 134% increase from last year’s letters, was obtained by accounting firm UHH Hacker Young, which submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the HMRC. Neela Chauhan, a partner at the accounting firm, revealed to Financial Times that the UK tax authority now receives transaction data directly from major exchanges in order to identify and confirm cases of crypto tax evasion.

Chauhan told FT:

The tax rules surrounding crypto are quite complex, and there’s now a volume of people who are trading in crypto and not understanding that even if they move from one coin to another, it triggers capital gains tax.

Furthermore, HMRC will also receive access to user information from global exchanges starting from January 2026 under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Crypto-Assets Reporting Framework (CARF). The UK tax office intends to collect data throughout 2026, with the first filing slated for May 31, 2027.

The UK crypto scene continues to expand, with digital asset regulation seemingly taking a better shape in the region. Recently, the Financial Conduct Authority lifted its four-year ban on crypto-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs), allowing asset managers to offer indirect digital asset exposure to retail traders on the London Stock Exchange.

India Tax Authority Orders Probe Of Binance Traders

Crypto taxation has been ramping up all around the world, with other countries’ tax regulators also probing digital asset traders and digital asset holders suspected of avoiding tax. 

As Bitcoinist reported, the Income Tax Department under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in India recently ordered a probe of 400 high-net-worth (HNI) individuals for hiding their crypto trades on the Binance exchange. 

These investors are suspected of avoiding taxes on their digital asset gains between 2022-23 and 2024-25, while also failing to disclose their investments in various exchange wallets outside the country.

Related Reading: Major Japanese Banks Plan Joint Stablecoin Rollout By Year-End – Report

Главными бенефициарами нынешнего цикла крипторынка стали не долгосрочные держатели биткоина, а публичные майнинговые компании, заявили опрошенные агентством Bloomberg эксперты.  

Popular NFT market OpenSea is set to launch its highly anticipated native token SEA by Q1 2026, following a recent statement by its CEO Devin Finzer. Notably, the proposed cryptocurrency is designed as a key part of OpenSea’s transformation to a one-stop shop for any blockchain-related trading activity.

Related Reading: Florida’s Crypto Bill Gets A Second Life—But Will It Work This Time? OpenSea To Distribute 50% Token Supply To Community

In an X post on October 18, Devin Finzer shared key information on OpenSea’s long-awaited SEA token covering its utility, distribution, and tokenomics. The token was first announced in February 2025, as its launch is set to come year after.

According to details shared by Finzer, 50% of SEA’s total supply will be distributed to the OpenSea community, with at least half of this allocation going toward initial claimants. Meanwhile, OGs and participants in the platform’s rewards program will be considered separately, recognizing their long-term engagement and contributions to the marketplace.

The OpenSea CEO also revealed that 50% of the company’s revenue at launch will be used to purchase SEA tokens, establishing an immediate demand mechanism to support the token’s value and liquidity. In terms of functionality, SEA will be integrated into the marketplace’s core experience, allowing users to stake tokens and engage more deeply with their favorite collections. 

A Multi-Chain Trading Project

As earlier stated, SEA represents an integral component in OpenSea’s proposed operation to function as a one-stop shop for blockchain trading. Finzer provides additional depth to this project, which aims to move OpenSea from being an “NFT marketplace” to a general trading platform. 

The OpenSea boss describes NFTs as the first phase before a sequel that will provide users seamless access to the on-chain economy to trade all objects, including tokens, culture, art, and ideas, among others. 

Finzer said:

Building that product is in our DNA. You shouldn’t have to use a CEX and give up custody of your assets. But you also shouldn’t need to navigate a maze of chains, bridges, wallets, and protocols in order to use onchain liquidity, wondering whether your balance is on Solana, an Ethereum L2, or somewhere else.

The OpenSea boss also explains the importance of the SEA token to this project, saying 

You should just be able to trade everything in one place, seamlessly. And that brings me to $SEA, from the OpenSea Foundation. Integrating $SEA into OpenSea will be the opportunity to show the world our vision. It will shine a spotlight on everything we’re building. So we need to make damn sure that what we’ve built deserves that spotlight — not just for us, but for every holder who believes in what crypto can become. $SEA is not being created to be launched and forgotten.

Meanwhile, OpenSea now boasts over $2.6 billion in October 2025, 90% of which was generated from token trading.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview

Глава отдела исследований компании Galaxy Digital Алекс Торн (Alex Thorn) заявил, что бычий тренд на криптовалютном рынке остается в силе, несмотря на краткосрочные периоды волатильности и падение котировок цифровых активов.

Главный исполнительный директор и соучредитель крупнейшего маркетплейса невзаимозаменяемых токенов OpenSea Девин Финзер (Devin Finzer) рассказал, что платформа запустит собственный токен SEA в январе — марте 2026 года.

Popular financial educator and “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki has once again criticized the US dollar, calling it “fake money” and warning that inflation is making life harder for the poor and middle class. 

In one of his recent posts on the social media platform X, Kiyosaki noted how the global monetary system is broken and corrupt, while also urging people to save in assets like gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum instead of government-issued money.

Inflation And The ‘Fake Money’ Crisis

Kiyosaki said the rich keep getting richer, not always because they work harder, but because government money makes them richer. He explained that while he is personally glad to see gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum increasing in price, his real concern is that the cost of living keeps rising for those without such assets. 

“The price of life,” he said, “makes life harder on the poor and middle class.” This is a comment based on recent global macroeconomic events that have led to high inflation in many countries. A prime example is in the US, where reports show that 75% of Americans are spending more due to soaring prices of goods and services.

Kiyosaki noted that government money only benefits the rich, and unfortunately, this is at the expense of average and poor people, who are always getting poorer. These are the people who are always victims of “a broken and corrupt monetary system.”

In both interviews and posts over the years, Kiyosaki has made a clear distinction between fake fiat currency and what he considers real assets. Unsurprisingly gold and silver are part of what he considers real assets. 

Aside from precious metals, Kiyosaki also embraces Bitcoin and Ethereum as modern extensions of this real asset philosophy. The financial author has even given many ultra-bullish price predictions for Bitcoin, with price targets reaching as high as $13 million if all goes right for the cryptocurrency in the coming years. 

“Please save real money…. Gold, silver, Bitcoin, Ethereum….not Fake government Money,” Kiyosaki said.

Recent Market Performance

The assets highlighted by Kiyosaki (gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum) have all seen notable market activity in the past two weeks. Gold’s price exploded to new all-time highs during the week, marking its ninth consecutive week of bullish momentum. 

This saw it create its largest single-week advance on record to reach an all-time high of $4,379 per ounce. With the way things are going, this record is set to be broken anytime soon. Silver has been following in the footsteps of Gold, also reaching a record high of $54.2 during the week. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the other hand, are struggling to regain momentum after a flash crash last week triggered by tariff news from US President Donald Trump that caused both cryptocurrencies to fall below important support levels. This pullback is notable, considering Bitcoin had started October by creating a new all-time price high above $126,000.

Featured image from Richdad, chart from TradingView

Корреляция биткоина с остальным крипторынком сократилась с 0,99 до 0,64 — из-за альткоинов, превзошедших первую криптовалюту по темпам роста цены, сообщили эксперты криптообозревателя CoinGecko.

Основатель платежного сервиса Strike, гендиректор Twenty One Capital Джек Маллерс (Jack Mallers) заявил, что биткоин следует называть «машиной правды», способной извлечь выгоду из любого кризиса ликвидности на рынках.

The Bitcoin market continues to reflect much uncertainty, as the price shows little to no signs of recovery from the obvious bearish trend established in the last two weeks. However, on-chain data has surfaced that puts into perspective the price action of the flagship cryptocurrency and what market participants can, as a result, realistically anticipate.

Binance And Other Major Exchanges Witness Capitulation 

In a recent QuickTake post on the CryptoQuant platform, analyst CryptoOnchain revealed a drastic change noticed across top exchanges involved with Bitcoin transactions. The relevant indicator here is the Bitcoin Taker Buy Ratio, which gauges the proportion of trading volume initiated by the buyers against the magnitude of transactions elicited by sellers. In this case, the analyst measured the Taker Buy Ratio on Binance and that on “All Exchanges” as a collective. 

A reading above 0.5 represents the presence of more buyers as opposed to the relative scarcity of sellers. On the flip side, values below 0.5 points at the preponderance of sellers across the measured exchange. As was reported by CryptoOnchain, the Bitcoin Taker Buy Ratio recently fell to a “multi-year low” of about 0.47. Clearly seen on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, a Taker Buy Ratio below 0.5 is expectedly to back the overwhelming sell pressure seen reflected on Bitcoin’s price.

What’s interesting about this surge in sell pressure is how it follows the recent spike previously noted in exchange inflows. The analyst explains completes a typical capitulation sequence starts with “panic inflows,” a scenario where investors hurriedly move their BTC holdings to exchanges. After this, aggressive selling follows suit, increasing bearish pressure on the price. 

Usually, when the market records this high a magnitude of sales, it means the market sentiment could be in a state of fear. True to this, the analyst explained that “the dominance of aggressive sellers over the buyers has reached an extreme point.”

Bitcoin Market Outlook

At the moment, there is a high possibility that the bearish pressure dominating the market could send Bitcoin’s price further towards the downside, seeing as the market appears to struggle against this wave of supply. 

However, CryptoOnchain reemphasized known historical trends suggesting that this kind of capitulation event, where the market flushes out the weak hands, has often preceded the establishment of a market bottom. If history is anything to go by, the Bitcoin market could be nearing price levels where it begins to see significant bullish reversals. 

For this to be possible, the analyst added a caveat that it most likely would be on the condition that the 0.5 level has been decisively reclaimed, especially if it were to occur on a large exchange like Binance. As of press time, Bitcoin is worth approximately $106,900, with a slight but insignificant growth of 0.3% over the past day. 

The US federal funding lapse has stretched on, creating new delays for regulatory decisions tied to crypto products. According to reports, the shutdown has lasted beyond 40 days in some scenarios used by market forecasters, and reduced staffing at federal agencies is slowing routine approvals.

Shutdown Stretches Past 40 Days

Reports have disclosed a market estimate putting the chance of a prolonged shutdown at about 55% for certain stretches, which traders say complicates timing for filings and reviews.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is operating with fewer staff, and that has forced some rulemakings and approval windows to be pushed back. For applicants hoping for quick sign-offs, this means waiting longer than planned.

Investor Interest Remains High

Despite the holdup, investor appetite for regulated crypto products appears strong. According to filings and traffic data cited in market reports, clients of Charles Schwab hold roughly 20% of the US crypto ETF market by assets under custody, and web visits to crypto information pages have jumped about 90% on an annualized basis. That shows demand is not evaporating while regulators are idle.

What That Means For Markets

When reviews resume in force, some strategists expect pent-up demand to move into newly approved products. Based on reports, the delay has simply shifted the calendar rather than killed the approvals.

Yet market reaction is not guaranteed to be large; some money may already be waiting on the sidelines, while other investors have moved on.

Backlog Could Trigger A Fast Response

Regulatory staff will face a backlog when full operations return. Papers awaiting attention may be prioritized, and several issuers will press to get decisions cleared.

Sources tracking the space warn that a sudden cluster of approvals could follow the end of the funding gap, creating rapid inflows into the newly cleared funds.

Risks Beyond Timing

The shutdown is one of several risks. Reports point to the fact that approvals depend on legal arguments, compliance steps, and the agency’s view on market structure.

A temporary staffing shortfall delays work, but it does not change the substantive questions the regulator must answer before signing off. That means some applications could still be rejected or heavily conditioned.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Crypto firm Ripple is reportedly set to raise up to $1 billion to set up an XRP treasury firm. The firm is notably the largest XRP holder and plans to contribute some of its holdings to this proposed venture. 

Ripple To Raise $1 Billion For XRP Treasury

According to a Bloomberg report, Ripple is leading an effort to raise at least $1 billion to buy XRP. These coins will be held by a new digital-asset treasury firm, which will hold XRP as its primary reserve asset. Meanwhile, the crypto firm plans to raise this sum through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). 

The proposed XRP treasury firm by Ripple could become the largest in the U.S. if it raises up to $1 billion to buy XRP. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Ripple also plans to contribute some of its own XRP to facilitate this move. The crypto firm is the largest XRP holder, holding over 40% of the token’s total supply, including its holdings in escrow. 

It is worth noting that XRP Ledger (XRPL) validator Vet revealed that Ripple sent $500 million in XRP to a new account. He said that the account is not escrowed and doesn’t have multi sig, which he claimed is surprising given the account value. This has led to speculation that the transfer may be related to the $1 billion treasury firm the crypto firm is looking to set up. 

In addition to the $1 billion fundraise for an XRP treasury firm, Ripple also recently acquired GTreasury for $1 billion, expanding into the corporate treasury markets. This is also considered another major win for XRP, as Ripple and GTreasury plan to let customers use the crypto firm’s payment solution for real-time cross-border transactions, which they facilitate using XRP. 

Significance Of The XRP Treasury Firm

XRP commentator Kahneman noted the significance of the SPAC in Ripple’s plans to set up a $1 billion XRP treasury firm. He explained that this would be a publicly disclosed, regulated liquidity pool capable of handling corporate treasury flows. Meanwhile, Ripple just bought GTreasury, meaning that both moves could be intertwined. 

Kahneman further remarked that a SPAC would let the payment firm offer a regulated liquidity pool that corporate treasuries can use, even though the crypto firm is a private company. He added that this separates Ripple’s operating business from a compliant pool. 

Therefore, the XRP commentator opined that this could signal that the crypto firm intends to remain private for a while longer. Ripple has so far not revealed any plans for a potential IPO despite the XRP lawsuit already ending. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.32, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

As Bitcoin continues to trade sideways, gold has quietly stolen the spotlight, surging to new all-time highs as investors flock to safety amid global economic uncertainty. The move underscores a widening divergence between traditional and digital stores of value, raising questions about BTC’s role as digital gold in a macro environment that should favor both.

Momentum Gap: Bitcoin Stagnation And Gold Surge

In a compelling and sobering perspective, the current state of the crypto market, particularly Bitcoin, is contrasting sharply with the performance of gold. As analyst Exy pointed out on X, Gold is breaking all-time highs week by week, and yet BTC hasn’t moved an inch. EXY also revealed that social risk is at zero, and Google Trends remains stagnant for BTC searches. 

Exy describes the current crypto environment as an internal struggle, where participants are pvping, liquidating, scamming, pumping, and dumping against each other. However, the market tops are in euphoria and not in a stagnant period, as observed in the ongoing movement of Gold. Interestingly, when gold starts to consolidate, other risk assets such as BTC could finally catch their bounce.

Furthermore, the social risk will start improving once we see a consistent rate cut by the Federal Reserve (FED), which allows the normies to have extra cash monthly, and also quantitative easing (QE) to pump our assets. “Regardless, this isn’t over yet,” Exy noted.

Gold $30 Trillion Dominance Puts BTC Potential Into Perspective

CryptoRank.io has revealed that gold’s absolute inflow has exceeded Bitcoin’s by more than $15 trillion since January 1, 2024, underscoring the metal’s continued dominance as a global store of value. The Gold total market capitalization has surged to $29.6 trillion since the start of 2024, while BTC has climbed to $2.15 trillion.

Despite BTC’s growing adoption and its integration into digital assets in institutional finance, investors continue to view gold as the primary safe-haven asset amid economic market uncertainty. At the same time, the gold narrative is evolving, with tokenized commodities such as Tether Gold (XAUT), PAX Gold (PAXG), and AurusGOLD (AWG) experiencing rapid growth, offering investors on-chain exposure to physical gold and other precious metals.

Crypto expert theunipcs has also mentioned that the global gold market has now reached a staggering $30 trillion, adding over $12 trillion in value in the past year alone in its market cap. According to today’s metrics, if BTC captured just 10% of gold’s current market cap, it would trade around $150,700 per BTC, and that’s the bare minimum it would reach before this cycle tops out.

Arthur Hayes’ home office Maelstrom is seeking $250 million in capital investment to finance a private equity fund targeted at mid-sized crypto companies. According to Bloomberg, the fund is designed to provide traditional investors more access to the crypto market amid a spectacular recovery from the FTX-inspired market crash in November 2022.

Related Reading: Ethereum Institutional Accumulation Frenzy: Bitmine Expands Holdings With Another Massive Strategic ETH Buy Hayes PE Fund Targets 6 Company Acquisitions

In a post on Friday, Bloomberg reports that Maelstrom, founded by Arthur Hayes and former BitMEX M&A Head Akshat Vaidya, is actively working to raise $250 million for investment in mid-sized crypto firms. 

The fund, tagged as Maelstrom Equity Fund I, is expected to cover the acquisition of six crypto companies, with each purchase expected to range between $40 million-$75 million. Notably, there will be a strategic focus on blockchain service providers, including trading infrastructure and analytics startups. 

In a recent X post, Vaidaya, who acts as the managing director, provides more insights into this fund, highlighting the problem and proposed solution.

Vaidaya describes the new initiative as the first control-buyout PE fund to focus solely on the crypto ecosystem. The Maelstrom Equity Fund I is to achieve profitability in three main ways. First of which is providing founders of supporting blockchain services to access clean exit opportunities at reasonable valuations. 

Furthermore, the PE fund would also aim to help new TradFi entrants to the crypto space navigate investment in businesses by providing them access to “an acquisition-ready portfolio of cash-flowing, growing businesses for future buyers of crypto businesses like Robinhood, Charles Schwab, X, Wealthfront, etc.” Finally, Hayes, Vaidaya and newly hired partner Adam Schlegel are also looking to offer capital allocators such as pension funds or other family offices the opportunity to invest capital at scale, e.g, 9 figures+, into the “most fundamentally valuable” sectors of the crypto economy, i.e., the blockchain supporting business, without having to worry about token exposure or market volatility.

Maelstrom PE Fund: High Risk Or Not?

Interestingly, Bloomberg notes that Maelstrom’s proposed equity fund comes amidst a challenging period as PE firms are globally struggling to attract capital. In the crypto market, PE investment is reportedly down to $1.4 billion, representing a 65% decline from the peak of 2021, which suggests a significant business risk for Hayes and partners. 

However, a series of high-profile acquisitions amidst a rebounding market since the FTX crash, coupled with the mechanics of the Maelstrom, provides an appealing context for investors. At press time, the total crypto market cap is valued at $3.59 trillion following a 1.06% decline in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin is slowly stabilizing after the dramatic flash crash that briefly sent its price plunging to $101,000 last weekend. The event caused widespread liquidations across the derivatives market and rattled trader confidence, leaving market sentiment deeply shaken. 

On-chain data from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin’s open interest variation fell to negative 25 in the aftermath of the flash crash, its lowest reading in 2025. This decline highlights a market that has been cleansed of excessive leverage, but the question is whether this points to a major rebound or the start of a deeper correction.

Bitcoin Open Interest Sinks Into Extreme Fear Territory

According to on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s open interest variation, an indicator measuring changes in the total number of active futures contracts, recently entered the Extreme Fear zone. Particularly, the open interest reached a low of around negative 25 points, its lowest level so far in 2025. 

This metric had previously reached similar lows during BTC’s last major correction earlier in the year, when it dropped to around negative 25. However, the last time the Bitcoin open interest dropped below this negative 25 level was in mid-2023.

The latest reading around negative 25 shows the intense market capitulation, where over-leveraged traders were flushed out when BTC touched $101,000. Similar drops so far this year have shown moments of extreme pessimism but were followed by renewed strength once the selling pressure subsided.

Each time open interest collapsed to this degree, Bitcoin’s price found support soon after and began a steady recovery in the following weeks. This recurring pattern suggests that extreme deleveraging often precedes the formation of local or macro bottoms. 

What Does This Mean For Bitcoin?

If the crash in open interest follows a price drop, it often indicates a wave of long liquidations. This type of extremely low open interest means that most leverage traders has been fully flushed from the system, and the market is now cleaner. In such cases, it can actually be bullish in the medium and long terms.

As shown in the chart above, the last time open interest fell to negative 25 was in early April, when BTC finally ended its extended correction from above $106,000 at $76,300. What happened after was months of uptrends that finally saw Bitcoin break above $106,000 again and into new all-time highs.  

A similar performance and comparable rebound would project BTC’s price to undergo a steady 40% to 50% increase over the next multiple months. This steady increase would send Bitcoin price action back above $150,000 by early 2026.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $106,900, up by 1.4% in the past 24 hours.

Striped-owned blockchain Tempo has now reportedly completed a Series A funding round, securing a total investment of $500 million. The funding round was led by prominent venture capitalist firms Greenoaks and Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, representing the growing footprint of cryptocurrency in mainstream finance and global capital markets.

Tempo’s Valuation Climbs To $5B After Funding Round

In a new post on Friday, Fortune reports that Stripe’s Tempo has recorded a successful Series A funding, pushing the blockchain’s valuation to $5 billion. In early September, Stripe announced Tempo in partnership with crypto VC Paradigm as a layer-1 blockchain designed to enable stablecoin payment and boost payment efficiency.

In Paradigm’s announcement statement, the firm’s co-founder and managing director, Matt Huang,  gave valuable insights on Tempo’s mission, saying:

We are excited to further crypto’s ability to tackle real-world use cases, including global payments and payroll, remittances, tokenized deposits for 24/7 settlement, embedded financial accounts, microtransactions, agentic payments, and more.

Tempo joins a list of growing stablecoin-focused layer 1 blockchains, including Circle’s Arc and Tether’s Plasma. Interestingly, its launch also comes following the adoption of a pro-crypto policy by US President Donald Trump, leading to several positive regulatory developments.

In July, President Trump notably signed the GENIUS Act, establishing a federally approved framework to regulate the issuance and operation of stablecoins in the United States. 

Tempo represents Stripe’s bet on dollar-backed stablecoin’s potential to emerge as a key player in the global payment system. The blockchain project is jointly designed with global industry leaders, including Deutsche Bank, OpenAI, Standard Chartered, and Revolut, among others. 

Meanwhile, alongside Greenoaks and Thrive Capital, other participants in this funding round included Ribbit Capital, Sequoia, and Ron Conway’s SC Angel. Notably, Paradigm and Stripe made no equity contribution to this round.

Stripe Presses On With Crypto Ambitions

Beyond its investment in Tempo, Stripe’s expansion into crypto has accelerated in 2025. In February, the billion-dollar company acquired stablecoin startup Bridge for $1.1 billion, followed by a June deal to purchase crypto wallet company Privy.

With Tempo, the payment company looks to gain a stronghold in the booming stablecoin market. While Stripe has not disclosed plans for a native Tempo token, the company has previously stated plans to remain agnostic. The company’s focus on blockchain payment infrastructure puts it in direct competition with established stablecoin players like Circle and Tether, and major blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and Tron.

At press time, the total stablecoin market cap is $316.52 billion with a daily trading volume of $238 billion. 

Связанный с сооснователем рухнувших криптобирж BTC-e и Wex Алексеем Ивановым-Билюченко кошелек лишился 6500 биткоинов на $694 млн, сообщил близкий к российским силовикам телеграм-канал «ВЧК-ОГПУ».

Despite the red-hot start to the month, the historically bullish “Uptober” period has not particularly gone according to the expectations for the Bitcoin price. Following the market-wide downturn on October 10, the premier cryptocurrency has not been able to mount a clear recovery back to its former highs.

In fact, the Bitcoin price action continues to struggle under lasting bearish pressure, falling to a new low around $103,000 on Friday, October 18. With uncertainty taking over the market, investors are left wondering whether the bull run is over or the sluggish action is a minor blip.

According to a recent outlook, the current technical position of the BTC price could offer insight into its next step.

 

BTC At Risk Of Deeper Correction If It Loses $99,900 Support

In an October 17 post on the social media platform X, Glassnode put forward an interesting evaluation of the current Bitcoin price setup. The prominent crypto analytics firm revealed that the flagship cryptocurrency is currently sitting between two major support zones.

This analysis is based on the Glassnode Technical Pricing Model, a chart containing a number of technical indicators, including the Pi Cycle indicator, the Mayer Multiple, the Yearly Moving Average (MA), and the 200-Week Moving Average. 

According to Glassnode, the Bitcoin price is currently wedged between the Mayer Multiple ($107,400) and the Yearly MA ($99,900).

The Mayer Multiple (200-Day Simple Moving Average) is a popular technical indicator often linked with the transition point between a bull and bear market. Meanwhile, the 365 Day SMA offers a long-standing baseline for high-timeframe market momentum.

Following the latest dip, the Bitcoin price slipped beneath the 200-day Moving Average, signaling a possible shift from a bullish market condition to a bearish one. While BTC still holds above the 365-day MA, the premier cryptocurrency needs to stay above this level to steady the current trend.

Ultimately, investors might want to keep an eye on the BTC price, as a break beneath the $99,900 level could spell much bigger trouble for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. It is worth noting that a return to above the Mayer Multiple could be significant for Bitcoin’s progression, albeit with price resistance around the 111-day moving average (currently at $114,700).

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $106,427, reflecting an almost 2% price drop in the past 24 hours.

According to Chainalysis, Russia received over $376 billion in on-chain crypto transfers between July 2024 and June 2025, ahead of the United Kingdom’s $273 billion.

That metric measures value moved into wallets and addresses tied to Russia during the 12-month window. Based on reports, the figure was driven by a mix of very large transfers, rising DeFi activity, and growing use of rouble-linked stablecoins.

Big Transfers And DeFi Activity

Large transactions appear to have pushed the overall totals up. Transfers greater than $10 million rose by 86% in Russia over the year, a much faster increase than seen across other European markets.

DeFi activity also expanded sharply — rising roughly eightfold in early 2025 compared with mid-2023 levels before settling at about 3.5 times that earlier baseline. Those moves suggest that bigger players, including funds and institutional traders, are moving significant amounts on-chain.

Stablecoins Drive Cross-Border Movement

Reports have pointed to a rouble-pegged stablecoin, known as A7A5, as one of the rails used for cross-border settlement.

That token reached roughly $500 million in market capitalization in early October, and on-chain transfers tied to it topped $40 billion in recent months, according to blockchain trackers.

US and European officials have raised concerns about connections between some stablecoin flows and sanctioned entities, which has drawn extra attention to where the money is coming from and where it’s going.

Regulatory Shifts And Digital Ruble

Russia is also preparing formal digital money options. Based on reports, the central bank plans a national digital ruble launch on September 1, 2026, and lawmakers have discussed rules that could require major companies to support the CBDC from the start.

There has been talk of a national crypto bank and measures to open retail access to trading, steps that might shift some informal activity into regulated channels.

Pressure Points And Practical Effects

High transaction volume does not mean mass retail adoption across the population. Much of the growth is concentrated in wholesale flows — trading desks, settlement transfers, and firms using stablecoin rails.

That concentration makes the aggregate numbers large and real, but it also means the typical consumer may not be using crypto for routine payments. Still, the A7A5 case shows how quickly on-chain rails can scale when other payment routes are constrained.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

The launch of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies has been one of the most consistent themes of 2025, with institutional players exploring new avenues to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the latest development, Huobi founder and some notable Ethereum early-day backers are looking to launch a $1 billion digital asset vehicle.

Planned ETH Trust In Talks To Acquire Nasdaq-Listed Firm

According to an October 17 report by Bloomberg, Li Lin, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi (now known as HTX) and chairman of investment firm Avenir Capital, and some of Asia’s earliest Ethereum backers are planning to launch a new digital-asset trust that will accumulate ETH tokens. This effort includes Hashkey Group CEO Xiao Feng, Fenbushi Capital founder Shen Bo, and Meitu Inc. founder Cai Wensheng, as revealed by the people familiar with the matter.

The digital asset treasury vehicle aims to offer investors regulated exposure to Ethereum and, ultimately, the larger cryptocurrency market. While crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been a large success in the United States, crypto treasury firms have come on as the latest pathway to institutional adoption of digital assets.

The Bloomberg report disclosed that the group behind this trust is currently having discussions about acquiring a Nasdaq-listed shell company to facilitate the vehicle launch. According to the cited sources, the project has already raised about a total of $1 billion, including $200 million from Avenir Capital and $500 million from Asian institutional players such as Hongshan Capital Group.

With the discussions around the structure of the Ethereum trust still ongoing, the people familiar with the matter said the details of the venture could still change before launch. Meanwhile, an announcement on the treasury launch is expected to arrive in the coming two to three weeks.

Is Ethereum The ‘Treasury King’?

This newest venture would represent another one in the rich list of already-launched and waiting-to-be-launched Ethereum treasury firms. Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming, recently called Ether the superior treasury asset compared to Bitcoin.

Chalom tied his claim of Ethereum being the better treasury asset due to its higher volatility and staking capability. According to the Sharplink co-CEO, Bitcoin’s relative lower volatility might be due to more coins being held (without trading) through exchange-traded funds.

According to a recent report, Sharplink Gaming boasts a holding of 840,124 ETH tokens, valued at approximately $3.19 billion at the current market price.

Amid the global push for stablecoin adoption, recent reports claim that three major Japanese banks are preparing to issue a yen-pegged token for global settlements before the end of the year.

Japanese Megabanks To Rollout Stablecoin This Year

On Friday, news media outlet Nikkei Asia reported that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Mizuho Bank are preparing to jointly launch a stablecoin “to promote settlements made with pegged cryptocurrencies.”

According to the report, the three major banks, which serve over 300,000 clients combined, plan to establish a framework for the stablecoin utilizing the system of Tokyo-based fintech company Progmat.

Notably, MUFG launched the platform in 2023 to facilitate the issuance of bank-backed stablecoins after the enactment of a 2022 bill that prohibited non-banking institutions from issuing stablecoins.

The megabanks are set to standardize their token for payments within the companies and between them. Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., which has over 240 major operating companies under its umbrella, will be the first institution to use the soon-to-be-launched token for internal financial settlements.

Nikkei noted that the company expects to reduce remittance fees and administrative burdens, both internally and externally, if the token becomes widely used.

The banks will initially focus on a yen-pegged stablecoin, but plan to issue a USD-pegged version in the future. Additionally, they anticipate a rollout before the end of the year following a proof-of-concept trial.

Regulatory Efforts Push Adoption In Asia

The megabanks’ rollout plan comes as the sector gains significant momentum in Japan and Asia. In August, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) was preparing to approve the first yen-backed stablecoin this fall. Under Japan’s framework, only licensed money transfer companies, trust companies, and banks are allowed to issue the tokens.

The token would be issued by Tokyo fintech company JPYC, which was in the process of registering as a money transfer company at the time. Additionally, it would be backed by Japanese yen reserves, including bank deposits and government debt.

Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, asserted that yen-pegged stablecoins could boost Japan’s bond market, as issuers would increase demand for government bonds. He highlighted that Tether and Circle have become major buyers of US Treasuries, also noted by the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, in August.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has been working to establish itself as one of the leading crypto hubs worldwide, advancing crucial legislation to regulate the sector. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoin Ordinance in May, which was enacted on August 1, and is expected to issue the first batch of licenses at the start of next year.

Similarly, South Korea has seen multiple bills related to the issuance and distribution of KRW-pegged stablecoins introduced in the National Assembly. The highly anticipated regulatory framework is expected to be released this quarter. In September, digital assets custodian BDACS and financial giant Woori Bank launched the first KRW-pegged stablecoin, KRW1.

It’s worth noting that Japan emerged as the fastest-growing crypto market in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in 2025, according to Chainalysis. The report attributed the growth in the Japanese ecosystem to the favorable policy developments in recent years.

As a result, Japan surpassed other leading nations, including India, South Korea, and Vietnam, in terms of on-chain value received, which grew by 120% in the 12 months leading to June 2025.