gm 02/11

Summary
gm, Tether reported impressive profits of $10 billion for the first three quarters of 2025, positioning it alongside major Wall Street players like Bank of America and approaching the earnings of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. REX Shares launched the innovative REX IncomeMax Option Strategy ETF (ULTI), designed to convert market volatility into weekly income through options on crypto firms like Core Scientific and Gemini. Meanwhile, Chainlink's integration with Stellar was announced, enhancing tokenized asset flow and interoperability across chains, reflecting growing demand for secure financial infrastructure. In regulatory news, California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation fined Bitcoin ATM operator Coinhub $675,000 for charging excessive fees and violating transaction limits, continuing the trend of increased oversight in the crypto space. The European Central Bank also accelerated its digital euro development plans, eyeing a 2029 rollout, though the project faces criticism from crypto advocates concerned about centralization and privacy issues.

News Headlines
📊 Red Uptober: Why Bitcoin Just Had Its Worst October in Years

• Bitcoin broke its six-year streak of October gains with a 3.69% decline for the month, dropping to $109,820 from its October 6 high of $126,080, marking the worst "Uptober" performance in years.
• Analysts attribute this downturn to macroeconomic shocks, fragile market structure, and mixed monetary policy signals, with increased selling by long-term holders contributing to the slump despite expectations of future recovery.

🏛️ Crypto Bank Custodia Suffers Another Court Rejection in Fed Master Account Pursuit

• The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Custodia Bank's efforts to obtain a Federal Reserve master account, confirming that Federal Reserve Banks have discretion to deny requests even from eligible entities.
• This marks another significant setback for Caitlin Long's Custodia, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by crypto banks attempting to integrate with traditional banking infrastructure.

🍔 Steak 'n Shake Bitcoin Burger Comes With Actual BTC as Firm Creates 'Strategic Reserve'

• Steak 'n Shake has launched a promotion offering customers $5 in Bitcoin when purchasing their new Bitcoin Steakburger or Bitcoin meal, available at nearly 400 locations across the U.S.
• The restaurant chain is also establishing a 'strategic Bitcoin reserve' to hold all Bitcoin payments received rather than converting them to fiat, while also donating a portion of sales to support the open-source Bitcoin charity OpenSats.

📈 ARK Invest's Crypto Exposure Tops $2.15B as Bullish Holdings Rise Across 3 Funds

• ARK Invest has dramatically increased its cryptocurrency exposure to over $2.15 billion across its three ETFs (ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF), including a recent $5.3 million purchase of Bullish shares.
• Crypto-related assets now comprise significant portions of ARK's portfolios: 29% of ARKF, 25.7% of ARKW, and 17.7% of ARKK, demonstrating the firm's strategic pivot toward digital asset infrastructure.

💱 Latin American Crypto Exchange Ripio Launches Argentine Peso Stablecoin 'wARS'

• Ripio, a major Latin American crypto exchange with over 25 million users, has introduced a stablecoin pegged to the Argentine peso, available on Ethereum, Coinbase's Base, and World Chain platforms.
• The stablecoin aims to facilitate global money transfers without relying on banks or dollar conversions, with plans to expand to other Latin American currencies to enable more efficient cross-border transactions.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
No fundraising data today.

Regulatory
💰 ECB Accelerates Digital Euro Timeline, Targets 2029 Launch

• The European Central Bank announced plans to fast-track its digital euro development with a pilot in 2027 and full rollout by 2029, pending European Parliament approval in 2026.
• The €1.5 billion project will function differently from cryptocurrencies, without public blockchains, raising concerns among crypto advocates about privacy implications and government control over digital finances.

🔮 Romania Blacklists Polymarket as Unlicensed Gambling

• Romania's National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has blacklisted prediction market platform Polymarket for operating gambling services without proper licensing, classifying its activities as "counterparty betting."
• The regulator emphasized it won't allow blockchain technology to serve as a cover for illegal betting practices, particularly as betting volumes surrounding Romanian elections have increased significantly.

🌐 Europol Warns of Increasingly Sophisticated Crypto Crime

• Europol reported that criminal misuse of crypto and blockchain is becoming more sophisticated, straining law enforcement resources across EU member states and requiring enhanced cooperation.
• Officials stressed the need for public-private partnerships, unified blockchain training standards, and improved cross-border investigation capabilities to combat the approximately $40.9 billion in illicit cryptocurrency transactions in 2024.

🔒 Elon Musk Announces Bitcoin-Like P2P Encryption for X Chat

• Elon Musk revealed that the upcoming standalone X Chat messaging platform will feature peer-to-peer encryption similar to Bitcoin's system, designed to enhance security while avoiding advertising-related privacy compromises.
• The platform, currently in beta for Premium users, supports text messaging, file sharing, and media attachments, with plans to add audio and video calls while maintaining both integrated and standalone versions.

🚫 U.S. Government Shutdown Threatens Crypto Legislation Progress

• The ongoing U.S. government shutdown, approaching a record length, has derailed progress on crypto legislation, including missing the October 20 deadline for a markup hearing on market structure legislation.
• With Congress likely to shift focus to other priorities as the year ends, the prospects for crypto bills becoming law are diminishing, although a Senate Agriculture Committee draft bill could still see movement if well-received.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is within an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term, which indicates further development in the same direction. The currency is approaching support at 109600 points, which may give a positive reaction. However, a break downwards through 109600 points will be a negative signal. Negative volume balance indicates that sellers are aggressive while buyers are passive, and weakens the currency. The currency is overall assessed as technically neutral for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum is in a falling trend channel in the short term. This shows that investors over time have sold at lower prices to get out of the currency, and indicates negative development for the currency. The currency is moving within a rectangle formation between support at 3777 and resistance at 4628. A decisive break through one of these levels indicates the new direction for the currency. The currency is approaching support at 3850 points, which may give a positive reaction. However, a break downwards through 3850 points will be a negative signal. Volume has previously been low at price tops and high at price bottoms. Volume balance is also negative, which confirms the trend. The RSI curve shows a rising trend, which is an early signal of a possible trend reversal upwards for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.