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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.

Amid a challenging phase for crypto prices, Bittensor (TAO) has emerged as a standout performer, recording substantial gains while the broader market grapples with its continuous downturn. 

As major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) continue to experience corrections following the flash crash on October 10, TAO has surged by over 40% in the past week, according to data from CoinGecko. 

This impressive performance has led market expert Quinten Francois to make a bold prediction: he believes Bittensor’s native token, TAO, could achieve a trillion-dollar valuation in less than 12 years.

TAO, ETH, LINK As Top Trillion-Dollar Contenders

In a recent social media post on X (previously Twitter), Francois highlights that the most intriguing aspect of TAO is its trajectory, which he argues should align with Reed’s Law rather than Metcalfe’s Law, the principle often associated with Bitcoin’s valuation. 

Bitcoin reached its trillion-dollar market cap in 2021, just 12 years after its inception. According to the expert’s theory, Bittensor could replicate or even expedite this timeline.

To elaborate, Metcalfe’s Law posits that the value of a network increases proportionally to the square of its number of users. In the context of Bitcoin, this means that as more individuals adopt and hold the cryptocurrency, its market value escalates exponentially. 

Conversely, Reed’s Law suggests that a network’s value grows exponentially with the number of user groups or sub-networks. For Bittensor, this translates to its 128 subnets, which could significantly enhance the network’s overall value, creating what the expert refers to as a “network effect of network effects.”

Francois asserts that this structure positions Bittensor to increase in value at a faster pace than Bitcoin. He describes investing in Bittensor as an asymmetrical bet, emphasizing its potential to become a trillion-dollar network. 

He also identifies Bittensor, alongside Ethereum and Chainlink (LINK), as the main contenders in crypto with the highest likelihood of reaching a trillion-dollar market cap, while noting that others like Binance Coin (BNB) and Solana (SOL), face “limitations” that may hinder their growth.

Key Factors For Bittensor’s Success

Another key element for this prediction is Bittensor’s model and economic incentives for artificial intelligence (AI) projects to develop within its network. With only 128 subnet positions available, competition is fierce. 

Each subnet must maintain high performance to retain its spot, as new entrants pay a fee in TAO, pushing the least-performing subnet out. This “Hunger Games” style competition ensures that quality remains high among the subnets and that they collectively earn a portion of the newly minted TAO.

Notably, Bittensor’s tokenomics are designed to mirror those of Bitcoin, featuring a maximum supply of 21 million TAO and a Halving event approximately every four years. 

According to Francois, the network’s tokenomic structure, combined with the competitive environment fostered by the subnet model, is intended to generate substantial long-term value.

Ultimately, the expert believes that TAO is positioned to evolve into a trillion-dollar asset, possibly achieving this milestone by 2030 or 2031. He points to the project’s first-mover advantage in decentralized AI, its competition model, and economic incentives as key factors propelling it toward this ambitious goal. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com  

A new report by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) highlights several key factors hindering cross-border co-operation among countries regarding cryptocurrencies. The G20 risk watchdog identified the difference in privacy rules as one such key hurdle.

Privacy Rules Hindering Cross-Border Crypto Regulation

It has been 16 years since Bitcoin’s (BTC) launch, and financial watchdogs around the world continue to face problems when trying to access crypto data. According to a recent report by the FSB, privacy laws are complicating efforts to access such data.

In a detailed 107-page long peer reviewed report, the G20 risk regulator remarked that privacy of data remains a crucial bottleneck that is hindering cross-border cooperation in regulating digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins.

It is worth highlighting that the FSB is funded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and works as a global financial authority that monitors and makes recommendations about the evolving global financial system.

The FSB has found several major gaps in how governments of different countries around the world regulate the digital assets market. The authority said that these gaps lead to second-order challenges, including regulatory arbitrage, data gaps, and market fragmentation. It added:

Comprehensive coverage of potentially higher risk activities, such as borrowing, lending, and margin trading, is often lacking. In addition, gaps or the lack of comprehensive reporting frameworks for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) hinder authorities’ ability to monitor and address potential financial stability risks effectively.

The FSB noted that crypto supervision and enforcement efforts tend to lag behind regulatory development, with many jurisdictions yet to implement the tools necessary for ensuring compliance and oversight.

According to the FSB, the issue of data confidentiality remains a major concern in identifying potential systemic risks and, in turn, supervising cross-border crypto asset activities. Specifically, secrecy or data privacy laws are likely to pose significant barriers to co-operation.

Further, the FSB remarked that a good chunk of users are reluctant to share confidential information due to risks of data breaches and the lack of guaranteed reciprocity. The report shares the following table highlighting the implementation status of the FSB’s policy recommendations.

Little Progress Made By G20

In 2023, the G20 – a group of countries comprising the 20 major global economies – pledged to establish a unified crypto regulatory framework. At the time, the body asked its member countries to share information to better regulate the emerging asset class.

However, little progress has been made since then. The challenges remain the same, if not more complicated, due to the rapid pace of advances in the crypto industry. One G20 member country, India, recently delayed releasing its crypto framework over systemic risk concerns.

Meanwhile, the FSB recently stated that it will take measures to address stablecoin-related risks. At press time, BTC trades at $106,727, down 1.2% in the past 24 hours.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has successfully completed its acquisition of South Korean-based digital asset exchange Gopax.

Binance’s Gopax Stake Finalized

On October 16, industry sources reported that South Korean financial authorities had finalized their review of Gopax’s executive changes, which had been pending for an extended period. Binance initially acquired a 67% stake in Gopax back in February 2023, positioning itself as a major shareholder. 

However, the approval process for the executive changes submitted to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had stalled for nearly two and a half years, as regulators were cautious about the potential implications of Binance’s ownership on South Korea’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework.

The scrutiny surrounding Binance is heightened by its legal troubles in the US, where the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under its previous Chair Gary Gensler, accused the exchange in June 2023 of unlawfully providing services to US customers and misappropriating customer funds. 

The US Treasury Department and the Department of Justice (DOJ) also charged Binance with violating AML regulations, resulting in a hefty fine of $4.3 billion. This ultimately led the exchange’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao, CZ, to resign and serve four-months in prison. 

France Steps Up AML Efforts For Crypto Exchanges

Currently, South Korean law does not mandate a distinct eligibility screening process for major shareholders of cryptocurrency exchanges. Instead, the regulation requires that those seeking to operate in the digital asset sector, along with their executives, report to the FIU. 

Additionally, individuals who have been fined for offenses related to concealing criminal proceeds, financing terrorism, or violations of foreign exchange and capital market laws are prohibited from operating a business in this sector. This regulatory framework has led South Korean authorities to carefully evaluate Binance’s qualifications for entering the market.

Simultaneously, France is intensifying its anti-money laundering efforts concerning cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Bloomberg, regulatory bodies are working to assess over 100 entities that have registered to offer crypto services, aiming to determine which will receive permits for operations across the European Union. 

The French prudential supervision and resolution authority, known as ACPR, has been conducting thorough checks on numerous exchanges, including Binance, since late last year, according to confidential sources familiar with the situation.

At the time of writing, Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of the exchange, has been one of Friday’s worst performers following weeks of major rallies towards new all-time highs above $1,360. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently trading at $1,074, having recorded losses of 7% over the last 24 hours. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

Data shows the plunge in Bitcoin and the altcoins has sent a shockwave through the derivatives market, resulting in massive long liquidations.

Bitcoin Has Just Witnessed A Crash To $104,000

Last Friday was a shock for the cryptocurrency market and it seems this Friday is continuing the trend as Bitcoin and company have just seen another leg down. The below chart shows how BTC’s recent price action has looked.

From the graph, it’s visible that shortly after the earlier crash, Bitcoin saw a rebound back to $116,000, giving investors hope for a market recovery. This surge, however, has now turned out to be just a dead-cat bounce.

With a plunge of over 6% in the last 24 hours, BTC has returned to the $104,200 level. The altcoins have faced even heavier losses, with Ethereum being down almost 9% to $3,700. Just like how last week’s crash caught out derivatives traders, the same has happened this time around as well.

Crypto Derivatives Market Has Seen Liquidations Of Nearly $1.2 Billion

According to data from CoinGlass, a large number of liquidations have occurred in the cryptocurrency derivatives sector during the past day. A “liquidation” takes place when an open contract amasses losses of a certain percentage and is forcibly shut down by its platform.

Here’s a table that shows the numbers related to the liquidations that have occurred on cryptocurrency exchanges during the last 24 hours:

As displayed above, the sector as a whole has seen a total of $1.18 billion in liquidations during the past day. Since most of the liquidity in this period has been toward the downside, it’s no surprise that long investors took the brunt of the squeeze. More specifically, $917 million or 77% of the liquidations involved bullish bets.

In terms of the individual assets, Bitcoin-related contracts contributed the most toward the event, with over $431 million in liquidations.

Ethereum came second with $267 million in contracts and Solana third with $89 million. Interestingly, XRP, which has a notably larger market cap than SOL, saw only $27 million in liquidations, despite a similar degree of volatility in this window. This suggests speculative interest around the asset hasn’t been as strong recently.

In some other news, the Bitcoin crash appears to have come alongside a shift to red values on the Coinbase Premium Gap, as CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn has pointed out in an X post.

The Coinbase Premium Gap tracks the difference between the Bitcoin price listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and that on Binance (USDT pair). A negative value on the indicator suggests users of the former are applying a higher selling pressure than traders on the latter. Thus, given the latest shift, it would appear possible that institutional entities using Coinbase could, in part, be behind the bearish action.

Швейцарское управление по надзору за азартными играми (GESPA) подало в правительство жалобу на платформу невзаимозаменяемых токенов FIFA Collect. В жалобе указано, что данная платформа является нелицензированным поставщиком азартных игр.

More than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours as a broad sell-off sent Bitcoin from above $109,000 toward $105,000, with intraday prints near $104,700 on some venues.

CoinGlass figures show roughly $717.7 million in perpetual futures liquidations alone, led by $372 million on BTC and $252 million on Ethereum (ETH). In all, almost 290,000 traders were “rekt” as cascading margin calls rippled across exchanges, amplifying volatility and slippage in thin order books.

The move follows a failed attempt by BTC to reclaim the $116,000–$123,000 resistance zone earlier in the week. Technicians now flag $104,000 as first defense and $100,000 as the next major support, while a push back above $112,000–$114,000 could stabilize price action.

Leverage Unwinds Batter Altcoins; High-Profile Traders Hit

Altcoins lagged as capital rotated toward Bitcoin and stablecoins during the broader risk-off move. The most significant single liquidation occurred on HYPE, where an ETH-USD position worth $20 million was force-closed amid cascading margin calls.

BNB fell double digits from recent highs; XRP slid toward $2.20 as open interest fell from $9 billion to $3.5 billion following a $610 million liquidation event, even as Volatility Shares filed for a 5x leveraged XRP ETF. Meme coins were hit hardest as on-chain data show aggressive de-risking and reduced spot depth.

The rout also claimed well-known degens. James Wynn suffered multiple liquidations on $kPEPE longs, including a wipe of 9.79 million kPEPE ($66,000) as he re-levered into subsequent dips.

Machi Big Brother saw a string of ETH long liquidations (one block of 206 ETH, $787,000) as price slipped below $3,800. Tracking services note Machi’s cumulative drawdowns now far exceed earlier gains, an object lesson in the dangers of high leverage during volatility spikes.

What to Watch Next: Levels, Flows, and Volatility

Short term, traders are focused on:

• Levels: BTC support at $104,000 then $100,000; resistance $112,000–$114,000 and $116,000. For ETH, support $3,800–$3,900, resistance $4,200–$4,400.
• Flows: ETF net flows, stablecoin liquidity, and exchange balances, renewed inflows would validate buy-the-dip behavior and rebuild depth.
• Derivatives: Open interest, funding, and skew. After the purge, cleaner positioning could reduce tail risk but options activity implies elevated implied vol ahead.

Macro headlines (tariff rhetoric, growth data, and the U.S. government shutdown’s knock-on effects) remain the wild card.

If BTC holds $104,000 and ETFs flip back to net inflows, a range rebuild is likely; lose it, and the market’s gaze shifts to the psychological $100,000 round number with wider collateral effects across altcoins.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview