This year’s National Day holiday coincided with a new crypto-cycle milestone: Bitcoin was 364 days past its previous cycle high. Based on historical cycle patterns, Bitcoin should have officially emerged from the bear-market bottom and entered a bull-market upswing. However, price action and market sentiment have yet to support this outlook.
Bitcoin fails to break higher, on-chain memecoins cool off, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new all-time highs
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin made several unsuccessful attempts to break above $87,000 during the holiday, with two sharp intraday pullbacks. It has since found support again above $83,000. Previously hot altcoins such as NEAR and ZEC have also entered a correction. NEAR has shown relative strength, rebounding quickly after the hack incident. It has traded sideways overall over the past week, gaining 0.1% to stand at $5.32. ZEC has been relatively weak, falling 7.3% over the past week to $1,325.
On-chain project market caps have plunged. In the Robinhood ecosystem, PONS’s market cap fell to $263 million (excluding burned tokens), while AI dropped to $100 million, down nearly 80% from its peak.
Although U.S. stocks edged lower yesterday, they maintained strong momentum overall during the Golden Week holiday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hitting record highs. The semiconductor index rose for a fourth straight session. Technology and AI chip stocks led the gains, with representative names such as AAOI rising 14% for the week and MRVL gaining 6.18%.
Beyond the markets, BlockBeats has rounded up key industry news from the Golden Week holiday:
OKX completes new funding round, plans new tokenized U.S. stock trading platform
On October 6, cryptocurrency exchange OKX completed a new funding round at a $25 billion valuation, with existing partners and hedge fund Qube Research & Technologies participating. OKX said Circle Internet Group, Ripple, and SC Ventures, the investment arm of Standard Chartered, also took part in the round. OKX declined to disclose the amount raised, but said the round was an extension of its fundraising in March this year. At the time, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in OKX at the same $25 billion valuation.
A day earlier, OKX filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposing a tokenized U.S. stock trading platform, making it one of the first major crypto exchanges to pursue such a business under new U.S. rules. OKXICE LLC, a joint venture between OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, plans to initially offer tokenized shares of 63 NYSE-listed companies. The issuers concerned can opt out within 30 days before trading begins.
NEAR Intents attacked; stolen funds recovered within 48 hours
On October 1, NEAR Intents issued a security notice confirming that it had been attacked. Initial investigations indicated that the vulnerability stemmed from flaws in the interaction between its Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure and its contracts. Within 48 hours, the head of NEAR Intents announced that the $3.8 million involved in the attack had been fully returned and that the team had halted its investigation.
CZ interviewed by The New York Times
During the Golden Week holiday, The New York Times published an interview with CZ. He said in the interview that his actual personal net worth was around $10 billion to $30 billion, far below Forbes’ estimate of $100 billion.
CZ also revealed that during the U.S.-Iran war, he was on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island and experienced an Iranian missile attack firsthand. However, after the windows shook, he was not overly concerned and calmly continued working.
Trump promises cash payments to U.S. citizens as he vies for midterm election victory
On October 3, seeking to secure victory in the midterm elections, U.S. President Donald Trump once again promised that if Republicans win control of both the House and Senate, he would send a $5,000 “dividend” to every adult U.S. citizen. Based on an estimated 240 million adult citizens, the plan would cost about $1.2 trillion, making it one of the largest economic stimulus programs in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic.
CFTC proposes new rules to fill gaps in crypto regulation
On October 5, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed two new rules to establish a U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory framework under its authority over leveraged and margin trading, filling regulatory uncertainty left by Congress’s failure to complete crypto legislation. Under the proposed rules, crypto activities involving leverage, margin, or financing would fall under CFTC oversight. This means that traders who use borrowed funds to increase their positions would be subject to the agency’s oversight.
In prepared remarks for the annual blockchain regulation symposium at Fordham Law School, CFTC Chair Mike Selig said: “These rules will codify a pathway for crypto asset trading platforms to operate under the CFTC’s unified national oversight, using the very same statutory authority that the previous administration used to regulate through enforcement.”
