Bitcoin set a fresh record, the SEC named crypto its top priority, trading on perp-DEX topped $1trn, Poland will tighten oversight of digital assets, and other events of the week.
Uptober begins
The bellwether began gearing up for an October rally at the end of September. On Monday morning it was still trading below $110,000, but it quickly gathered pace and set off towards a new record.
Throughout the week bitcoin was buoyant, with brief pauses for consolidation. On the morning of 5 October, digital gold set a new all-time high (ATH) at $125,708.
Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on the Binance exchange. Source: TradingView.
At the time of writing the coin had pulled back to $123,300, with a market capitalisation of $2.45trn. Over the past seven days bitcoin is up 13%.
The main driver is seen as the U.S. government shutdown. On 30 September Washington halted operations for the first time since 2018 after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on healthcare funding.
Sentiment was also boosted by inflows into spot ETFs based on crypto. Over the past trading week, bitcoin funds notched the second-largest weekly inflow since launch — $3.24bn.
Source: SoSoValue.
Ethereum-based instruments added $1.3bn.
In seven days ETH rose 13.7%, testing $4,600. It now trades near $4,500, roughly 8% below its ATH.
Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on the Binance exchange. Source: TradingView.
Among the week’s standouts was BNB. The token also set a record above $1,110.
Source: CoinGecko.
Total market capitalisation surpassed $4.3trn. BTC dominance is 57%, ETH — 12.7%.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index reached 74, up from 34 a week earlier.
Data: alternative.me.
The perp-DEX wars
In September, trading volume on decentralised exchanges for perpetual futures (perp-DEX) exceeded $1trn for the first time. The niche has clearly caught investors’ attention, sparking a full-on contest among platforms.
Source: DeFi Llama.
Aster led the segment with $493bn. In second place — Hyperliquid — with $280bn. Lighter rounded out the top three with $165bn.
Launched with backing from Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Aster continues to hold the top spots since late September. Its total value locked stands at $2.41bn.
Source: DeFi Llama.
The platform also topped the protocol fees ranking. On 28 September, Aster’s figure exceeded $29m, versus $22m and $7m for Tether and Circle respectively.
Source: DeFi Llama.
By press time, the exchange had slipped to second place with $193m over the past 30 days.
Also this week, leading perp-DEX Lighter announced the full launch of its L2 network after eight months of beta testing. The TGE is expected by year-end.
Despite Hyperliquid’s share falling from 45% to 8%, the platform remains “the most investable,” believes DeFi analyst Patrick Scott.
In his view, the venue’s key advantage is a resilient business model. A current market-cap-to-revenue ratio of 12.6 “indicates a fair valuation given the project’s earnings”.
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SEC priorities
At a roundtable with the CFTC, SEC chair Paul Atkins said regulating the crypto market is the agency’s “number-one task”. The meeting focused on supervision of the industry and delineation of powers.
The two watchdogs will continue to play a key role in regulating digital-asset markets. The SEC oversees cryptocurrencies deemed securities, while the CFTC’s remit covers most tokens recognised as commodities.
“We must work in unison. The main thing is to create a system in which our agencies will coordinate their actions seamlessly,” said Atkins.
Acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham stressed that “the turf war is over”.
Atkins pointed to the “boundless potential” of tokenisation. He estimates that drafting rules for this activity will take up to two years.
Also this week, the SEC excluded DePIN tokens from its oversight, as it did not deem them securities. The regulator wrote this in a letter to the DoubleZero project.
Michael Seaman, chief counsel of the Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, said he would not recommend action regarding the planned launch of the 2Z token. In his words, the coin does not require registration as a security.
According to DoubleZero, its protocol gives blockchain systems access to “underutilised private fibre-optic lines” maintained by network participants, who will receive 2Z tokens.
Project co-founder Austin Federa called the SEC’s decision proof that productive dialogue between regulators and crypto projects is possible.