Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | October 5 - October 11, 2025

Crypto Weekly Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Movements and Trends

• Crypto Weekly Recap
• Crypto Market Faced Record $19.1B Liquidation as Top Coins Plummeted Amid Tariff Announcements

Institutional and Banking Developments

• Morgan Stanley Expanded Full Crypto Access, Including Bitcoin and Ether Funds for All Clients
• ICE Invested $2B in Polymarket, Valuing It at $9B and Fostering Finance-Tokenization Integration
• YZI Labs Launched a $1B Builder Fund as BNB Hit a Record High, Targeting DeFi, AI, and Real-World Assets
• Major Banks Unveiled G7-Backed Stablecoin Initiative to Enhance Digital Currency Framework

Country-Specific Developments

• Luxembourg Became the First Eurozone Nation to Invest in Bitcoin via Sovereign Wealth Fund

Corporate and Venture Investments

• Citi Ventures Invested in BVNK Amid a $2.5B Bidding War Between Coinbase and Mastercard for Stablecoin Infrastructure

Exchange and Regulatory Expansions

• Coinbase Launched Crypto Staking in New York, Expanding to 46 States After SEC Legal Victory

Market Indices and Financial Products

• S&P Global Launched the Digital Markets 50 Index Merging Crypto Assets and Equities
• Grayscale Launched the First U.S. Spot Crypto ETPs with Staking for Ethereum and Solana Amid SEC Oversight

Crypto Weekly Recap

Total crypto market cap: $3.71T

Crypto Fear & Greed Index: 27 (Fear)

BTC.D: 60.24%

Bitcoin:

• Weekly performance: -7.65%
• US Spot BTC ETFs: +$2.71B
• Bitcoin fell sharply this week, trading around ~$113K after hitting a record $126K on Oct 5-6 and bottoming near $101.5K on Oct 10-11 as global risk assets sold off.
• A sudden 100% U.S.–China tariff hike and new software export bans announced at late Oct 10 sparked a macro risk-off event that pulled both equities and BTC lower.
• Fed minutes (Oct 8) reinforced a “data-dependent” tone and the government shutdown delayed September CPI until Oct 24, leaving policy direction uncertain and fueling rate volatility.
• The S&P 500 fell -2.71% daily and -2.52% weekly, while BTC tracked equities in near-perfect beta as traders either got liquidated or rotated into short-term cash positions.
• Derivatives saw the largest unwinding in history with over $19.1B in total crypto liquidations, mostly long-side, which was considered worse than previous black swan events like COVID.
• On-chain data from Glassnode (Oct 8) highlighted a prior breakout above $114K–$117K driven by ETF flows and mid-tier wallet accumulation, but flagged “crowded leverage,” which unraveled into Friday’s selloff.
• Large whales trimmed exposure near the highs, while smaller holders re-accumulated into the drop while Tether minted another $1B quickly, suggesting risk was redistributed rather than fully withdrawn from the market.
• Spot gold briefly exceeded $4,000/oz to post a weekly increase of 3.22%, outperforming BTC during the macro shock.
• Market sentiment flipped from “Uptober” optimism early in the week to cautious macro sensitivity post-tariff.
• Polymarket’s 2025 recession odds stayed steady at 7% through Oct 11, showing traders expect near-term turbulence but no deep downturn.

Ethereum:

• Weekly performance: -13.99%
• US Spot ETH ETFs: +$488.27M
• Ether ended the week with heavy losses after a brutal liquidity cascade.
• Price peaked near $4,750 on Oct 7 before collapsing to ~$3,373 on Oct 10, the day when the same macro driver that crushed BTC forced risk assets lower across the board.
• Institutional grip tightened: treasuries + ETFs now hold ~12.48M ETH, or ~10.31% of circulating supply (~5.66M ETH in corporate treasuries, ~6.81M ETH in ETFs). 
• Despite positive fund flows, one day of systemic outflows and long liquidations erased the weekly bid, showing how fragile liquidity and risky leveraged bets still dominate ETH price discovery.
• The Ethereum Foundation launched a 47-member Privacy Cluster and rolled out the Kohaku wallet / SDK roadmap, signaling a push to make privacy a native stack feature (e.g. modular privacy layers, masked transfers, P2P broadcasting). 
• Institutional accumulation and supply tightening create structural support, but the macro shock dominated the week’s outcome.

Others:

• Privacy tokens and BNB Chain memecoins led early in the week, but BNB memes quickly faded as markets dropped, while a few privacy coins held up — with ZEC standing out as the strongest performer. However, both lost spotlight to tokenized gold assets during the weekend.
• Galaxy Digital expanded into retail finance with GalaxyOne, offering up to 8% yields to accredited users.
• Standard Chartered warned that $1 trillion could exit emerging-market banks for stablecoins by 2028.
• BNY Mellon explored tokenized deposits to modernize its $2.5 trillion payments network.
• MetaMask integrated with Hyperliquid and Polymarket to enter on-chain derivatives.
• Square launched fee-free Bitcoin payments, pushing its stock to an eight-month high.
• SoftBank’s PayPay bought a 40% stake in Binance Japan to link cashless payments with crypto.
• Kalshi raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation, expanding prediction markets to 140 countries.
• The UK opened retail crypto access as its proposed stablecoin cap drew industry backlash.
• Jupiter partnered with Ethena to launch the JupUSD stablecoin on Solana.
• Galaxy raised $460 million to turn its Texas Bitcoin site into an AI data hub.
• Bittensor’s decentralized AI studio, Yuma, launched an asset-management arm.
• Swiss crypto bank AMINA began institutional staking on Polygon with 15% rewards.
• Sorare migrated its digital-sports collectibles platform to Solana.
• Ocean Protocol withdrew from the AI-token alliance with Fetch.ai and SingularityNET.
• FIFA came under Swiss investigation over blockchain-based ticket tokens.
• South Korea intensified crypto seizures, targeting cold-wallet holders.
• KindlyMD partnered with Antalpha on a $250 million Bitcoin-backed financing deal.
• Pineapple launched a $100 million Injective treasury after purchasing $8.9 million in INJ.
• CEA Industries revealed a 480,000 BNB corporate treasury.
• The Trump memecoin issuer pursued $200 million in funding to build a digital-asset treasury.

Crypto Market Faces Record $19.1B Liquidation as Top Coins Plummet Amid Tariff Announcements

On October 10-11, 2025, the crypto market experienced its worst liquidation event, with around $19.1 billion in positions liquidated, erasing $400 billion in total market value. Bitcoin fell to $101,500 and Ethereum to $3,373.67 amid cascading effects triggered by President Trump's announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. Major altcoins like XRP and DOGE faced severe crashes, while some smaller coins plunged over 99%. Analysts called this the largest forced deleveraging in crypto history, surpassing previous downturns, and noted a shift in market confidence as geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties loomed.

Morgan Stanley Expands Full Crypto Access, Including Bitcoin and Ether Funds for All Clients 

Morgan Stanley will grant full access to Bitcoin and Ether funds for all wealth-management clients, including retirement accounts, starting October 15, 2025. This marks a significant change from its previous policy, which restricted crypto investments to clients with at least $1.5 million in assets. The bank's Global Investment Committee recommends a crypto allocation cap of 4%. This decision aligns with a improving regulatory landscape, driven by President Trump's August executive order on alternative assets. With the global crypto market valued at approximately $3.9 trillion, Morgan Stanley aims to compete directly with crypto brokers while integrating digital assets into diversified portfolios.

ICE Invests $2B in Polymarket, Valuing It at $9B and Fostering Finance-Tokenization Integration

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is investing up to $2 billion in decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, valuing it at approximately $9 billion. The partnership aims to integrate event-driven data and tokenization projects, enhancing institutional access to real-time market indicators. Polymarket, which recently recorded $1.5 billion in trading volume and holds $164 million in total value locked, has faced regulatory challenges and enhanced its platform by adding Bitcoin deposits. This alliance signifies a noteworthy convergence between traditional finance and decentralized markets, marking a significant move for both entities.

YZI Labs Launches $1B Builder Fund as BNB Hits Record High, Targeting DeFi, AI, and Real-World Assets

YZI Labs, led by Changpeng Zhao, launched a $1 billion Builder Fund on October 8, 2025, to support the growth of the BNB ecosystem as BNB reached an all-time high of $1,336 and a $182 billion market cap. The fund targets projects in DeFi, AI, real-world assets, and decentralized science, providing up to $500,000 and mentorship through its Most Valuable Builder (MVB) accelerator. With 26 million daily transactions and $6.05 billion in DEX volume, BNB Chain leads the crypto market. YZI Labs aims to solidify BNB's role as a key infrastructure layer for future innovations.

Major Banks Unveil G7-Backed Stablecoin Initiative to Enhance Digital Currency Framework

A coalition of major banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, is exploring a stablecoin initiative tied to G7 currencies, aiming to enhance settlement efficiency while ensuring regulatory compliance. The project will use public blockchains, emphasizing full reserve backing and interoperability. This comes amid the rising institutional interest in regulated stablecoins, with the U.S. GENIUS Act creating a framework for payment stablecoins set to take effect in about 15 months. Meanwhile, euro-denominated efforts by nine European banks aim for a mid-2026 launch under the EU's MiCA regulation, targeting a growing market currently dominated by dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Luxembourg Becomes First Eurozone Nation to Invest in Bitcoin via Sovereign Wealth Fund

Luxembourg has become the first Eurozone country to invest in Bitcoin through its Intergenerational Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSIL), allocating 1% of its assets—approximately $9 million—into regulated Bitcoin ETFs. This strategic move, revealed during the 2026 national budget presentation, reflects a cautious acknowledgment of Bitcoin's potential despite European regulatory challenges. FSIL, managing about €764 million ($888 million) in total assets, underscores institutional recognition of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset. This investment follows a policy revision allowing up to 15% in alternative investments, signaling Luxembourg's proactive approach to integrating digital assets within its financial framework.

Citi Ventures Invests in BVNK Amid $2.5B Bidding War Between Coinbase and Mastercard for Stablecoin Infrastructure

Citi Ventures has invested in BVNK, a London-based stablecoin infrastructure provider processing over $20 billion annually, as traditional finance increasingly integrates with crypto. Concurrently, Coinbase and Mastercard are in advanced discussions to acquire BVNK for $1.5–$2.5 billion. BVNK’s valuation has surpassed $750 million, with the U.S. emerging as its fastest-growing market following the GENIUS Act, which enables stablecoin use in finance. With 25 regulatory approvals and 99.9% uptime, BVNK offers crucial services like virtual accounts and automated conversions, highlighting the shift of stablecoins from speculative tools to essential financial infrastructure.

Coinbase Launches Crypto Staking in New York, Expanding to 46 States After SEC Legal Victory

Coinbase has launched crypto staking in New York, expanding its services to 46 states after overcoming regulatory hurdles. New Yorkers can stake Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Cardano, Avalanche, Polygon, and Polkadot, with yields up to 16% APY. This approval follows the dismissal of the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase regarding unregistered securities. CEO Brian Armstrong emphasized the significance of this development for compliance and user access, noting lost staking rewards for New Yorkers. The launch aligns with a broader regulatory shift, as Coinbase re-establishes its national presence, leaving only a few states, including California and New Jersey, without staking.

S&P Global Launches Digital Markets 50 Index Merging Crypto Assets and Equities

S&P Global launched the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index on October 7, 2025, merging 15 cryptocurrencies and 35 blockchain-linked equities into a single benchmark. Each asset is capped at 5% weight, requiring cryptocurrencies to have a minimum market cap of $300 million and equities $100 million. The index will rebalance quarterly under standard governance rules. Additionally, an investable blockchain version called dShares will be issued through Dinari, offering tokenized ownership of the underlying assets. This initiative signals a shift towards integrating digital assets into mainstream financial markets, reflecting growing institutional interest and evolving indexing practices.

Grayscale Launches First U.S. Spot Crypto ETPs with Staking for Ethereum and Solana Amid SEC Oversight

Grayscale has launched the first U.S. spot crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) incorporating staking for Ethereum and Solana, enabling investors to earn rewards through standard brokerage accounts. This innovation positions Grayscale, managing approximately $35 billion in assets, as a leader amid evolving SEC regulations. The products enhance yield generation without direct blockchain involvement. Key metrics include a 2.5% annual management fee for the Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and a 0.59% fee for the Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETP. Grayscale's move may reshape the market, merging decentralized finance with regulated investments, despite potential regulatory scrutiny over staking rewards.