Cryptos have, for most part, stabilized this week, and we have seen mostly horizontal price movement for the past few days. BTC is up 0.65%, ETH down 1.94%, SOL down 3.11%. Out of the top 10 coins by market cap, XRP is the biggest loser with almost 12% drop in price. This drop in price came last week largely as a result of the SEC appeal.
The SEC filed a Notice of Appeal in its ongoing legal dispute with Ripple Labs and its executives, reigniting uncertainty around XRP.
Bitwise had submitted the first-ever spot XRP ETF application on September 30, 2024, just days before the SEC’s appeal deadline. The SEC is challenging the August 7, 2024, ruling, which had declared that XRP was not a security—a major win for Ripple. However, the SEC’s appeal brings the case back to court, extending the legal uncertainty around XRP’s classification, which could last into 2025.
The August ruling was widely celebrated as a landmark victory for Ripple and the crypto industry, as it allowed XRP to be traded freely without being labeled a security. Now, with the SEC’s appeal, that victory is in jeopardy, and the legal debate over XRP’s status remains unresolved. This uncertainty could delay the launch of any financial products tied to XRP.
Canary Capital has filed with the SEC to launch a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), becoming the second firm to make a bid for such a fund within a week. In its October 8 filing, Canary Capital stated that the ETF would offer investors exposure to the XRP market through traditional brokerage accounts, bypassing the challenges and risks associated with directly acquiring and holding XRP. This move follows growing interest in regulated financial products tied to cryptocurrency assets like XRP.
FTX has received court approval for its bankruptcy plan, allowing the collapsed crypto exchange to repay customers using up to $16.5 billion in recovered assets. The plan, approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, prioritizes customer repayments, with 98% of customers holding $50,000 or less set to receive payments within 60 days of the plan’s effective date. The settlements involve U.S. government agencies and international liquidators, and while some customers expressed disappointment over missed gains from the crypto market's recovery, FTX emphasized its success in recovering assets. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, now serving a 25-year sentence, has appealed his conviction.
So far in October, BTC ETFs have experienced a total of $119 million outflow, with the largest outflows recorded at the beginning of the month. However, we had large inflows on Monday, with a net total inflow of just over $235 million.
The American television company HBO has released a documentary less than 24 hours ago, speculating on the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback has identified Peter Todd, a prominent Bitcoin core developer involved in the cryptocurrency since 2010, as his candidate for the real-world identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the elusive creator of Bitcoin. This claim adds to the ongoing speculation surrounding Nakamoto’s identity, which has remained a mystery since Bitcoin's inception.
The U.S. economy saw stronger-than-expected job growth in September, adding 254,000 nonfarm payrolls, significantly surpassing the Dow Jones forecast of 150,000 and August's revised figure of 159,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.1%. Upward revisions to prior months further signal a healthier labor market than initially thought, with 17,000 additional jobs in August and 55,000 more in July. This robust performance may prompt the Federal Reserve to take a more measured approach in adjusting interest rates.
Google is facing the possibility of being broken up as the U.S. government considers how to address its dominance in online search. In a court filing, the U.S. Department of Justice indicated it may pursue "structural remedies," including forcing Google to sell off products like its Chrome browser, Android operating system, or Play app store, to curb its unfair control over the search market. Less drastic measures are also being considered as part of the government's broader efforts to tackle Google's monopoly.
Chinese stocks experienced their steepest declines in 27 years following disappointment over Beijing's lack of new stimulus measures for the country’s struggling economy. The Shenzhen Composite Index plummeted 8.6%, marking its worst drop since 1997, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 6.6%, and the CSI 300 dropped 7.1%, its biggest fall since 2020. Stocks had surged over 20% in the previous month after initial economic support announcements, but a press conference after the Golden Week holiday left traders underwhelmed, as officials provided little detail on promised measures and refrained from introducing additional stimulus.
Recent polling in Pennsylvania shows voters closely split between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, but betting markets suggest a different outcome, leaning toward a Trump victory. Offshore betting platforms, like Polymarket, have shown a rise in wagers favoring Trump, particularly after the vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz. Trump's return to Butler, Pennsylvania—where an assassination attempt was made on him in July—also appeared to boost his campaign. As of Wednesday, Polymarket bettors gave Trump a 53.1% chance of winning the election, his highest odds since early August.