In markets
Bitcoin recovered 4% over the weekend after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC that China and the US have agreed to a “framework” for a trade deal to avoid the threatened 100% tariffs blamed for the flash crash on October 10. But nothing is confirmed until President Trump meets China’s President Xi this week. Softer-than-expected CPI figures in the US reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week. Bitcoin is back in the green for the month, so the Uptober meme may well come true again. Bitcoin finishes the week up 3.1% on seven days ago to trade around A$173,782 (US$114,340), while Ethereum gained 3.6% to trade around A$6,275 (US$4,125). XRP gained 5.9% after it completed its acquisition of a prime brokerage, while Solana was up 4.8% and could see further gains on the news that Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF is set to go live on the NYSE this week. After big falls earlier in the year, spot volumes on the top ten centralised exchanges surged by 30.6% in the third quarter, according to analytics platform TokenInsight. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has increased to 50, or Neutral, after spending much of October in Fear territory.
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In Headlines
Surprise crypto ETF listings during US shutdown
The New York Stock Exchange has posted listing notices for four new crypto ETFs, which are set to begin trading this week: the Bitwise Solana Fund (offering staking), the Canary Capital Litecoin and HBAR Fund, and the Grayscale Solana Trust. While many analysts believed the shutdown would prevent the approval of new ETFs, issuers reportedly included language in their S-1 filings that enabled them to go live by default 20 days after filing, even without SEC intervention. The Hong Kong regulator has also approved ChinaAMC’s ETF, which tracks the performance of Solana.
JPMorgan endorses BTC and ETH as collateral
JPMorgan made a significant announcement this week, stating that it will allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for loans. The plan, expected to roll out by the end of the year, would see crypto assets held as collateral by a qualified third-party custodian. The move integrates digital assets into a major bank’s credit infrastructure, arguably establishing both Bitcoin and Ethereum as legitimate stores of value in the eyes of traditional finance.
Skinny Fed master accounts
US Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller has introduced a proposal to give crypto firms and fintechs access to a “skinny master account.” This would enable eligible institutions to connect directly to the Fed’s payment rails without relying on partner banks. The concept includes tight guardrails: no interest or caps on balances, no daylight overdrafts, and no access to the discount window. If adopted, it could expedite fiat on/off-ramps and reduce dependence on partner banks for some fintechs and crypto-adjacent firms. However, every payment would need to be pre-funded, and there’d be no liquidity backstop, so it’s more direct plumbing, not a safety net. It remains exploratory, with eligibility and design still to be decided.
Australia’s on-chain activity
Australians have greater on-chain activity than any other country, narrowly beating out South Koreans, according to a16z’s State of Crypto report. The statistics pertain to web traffic for the top 30 tokens on CoinGecko, sourced from various countries, and are then adjusted for population size. In other Australian crypto news, the consultation period on the new draft cryptocurrency legislation concluded on Friday. The industry has largely welcomed the proposals, but various submissions and commentators have stated that critical questions around definitions and ASIC’s future guidance remain unanswered. Edward Carroll, the head of global markets at MHC Digital Group, said, “We probably won’t see legislation introduced before the end of 2026.”
US crypto legislation
Despite reports suggesting Democrats were furious their “DeFi killing” proposals were leaked to the media, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes the two sides are nearing agreement on the crypto market structure bill. “Both sides are working hard to figure out the final 10% and we’re getting close,” he said, noting DeFi remained a live issue. However the bill turns out, it will face friendly regulators, with President Trump nominating the pro-crypto Michael Selig to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Selig currently serves as the chief counsel for the SEC’s crypto task force.
Stablecoin moves
Tokyo-based fintech JPYC has launched Japan’s first yen stablecoin, backed by bank deposits and government bonds. JPYC President Noriyoshi Okabe stated that the stablecoin represented a “major milestone in the history of Japanese currency” and that seven companies have plans to incorporate it. Remittance firm Western Union has also bowed to the inevitable and launched a trial stablecoin program to reduce its reliance on “legacy correspondent banking systems”.
CZ pardoned by Trump
President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao after a long campaign. Zhao pled guilty in November 2023 to a charge of failing to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program at Binance. He was sentenced to four months in prison and agreed to step down from his role at Binance. Critics argue that the pardon is evidence that the crypto industry has too much influence over the administration.
Ripple is in its Prime
Ripple has completed its acquisition of non-bank prime lender Hidden Road, which will now be known as Ripple Prime. Ripple is the first cryptocurrency company to own and operate a multi-asset prime broker, whose business has grown three times since the US$1.25 billion (A$1.9 billion) acquisition in April.
DAT news
S&P Global Ratings has assigned a B-minus ‘junk bond’ rating to Strategy, saying there’s a mismatch between its debt and dividend obligation, which are in USD, and its mainly Bitcoin assets. Global hedge fund Citadel has disclosed it owns 4.5% of Solana treasury firm DeFi Development Corp. Meanwhile, 10x Research believes the increasing focus on digital asset treasury companies has starved altcoins of liquidity and attention. “Altcoins have underperformed Bitcoin by roughly US$800 billion (A$1.22B) this cycle — a shortfall that would have largely benefited retail investors,” 10x said.
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