Daily Update 10.7

1. Castle Investment Founder: Concerned about the so-called "devaluation trades" betting on gold and Bitcoin.

Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel Investment, stated in a recent interview that investors have been increasingly betting on gold, silver, and Bitcoin this year, a trend referred to as "devaluation trade." Investors are starting to seek assets that are safer than the US dollar, which has made this billionaire very concerned. Ken Griffin added, "We are seeing a significant rise in the prices of assets outside the dollar, and investors are looking for effective ways to de-dollarize or reduce their exposure to US sovereign risk in their portfolios."

2. Federal Reserve Report: Population aging and wealth growth will drive demand for crypto assets until 2100

Cointelegraph reports that according to a research report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the wealth growth driven by global population aging and increased productivity is expected to continue to drive global asset demand, including Bitcoin, until 2100. The report predicts that population aging will add an extra 200% of GDP to asset demand between 2024 and 2100. Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, pointed out that with increasing regulatory clarity and the emergence of institutional products like ETFs, the aging population may place as much value on Bitcoin as they do on gold over the next 75 years, viewing it as a means of value storage. Additionally, Bitfinex analysts also believe that the increase in global wealth will enhance investors' risk appetite and demand for asset diversification, thereby increasing demand for crypto assets.

3. Driven by ETF capital inflows and government shutdowns, Standard Chartered reaffirms Bitcoin's target price of $200,000 by the end of the year.

According to a report by Cryptoslate, Standard Chartered's Head of Digital Assets Research Geoffrey Kendrick reiterated on October 2nd his target of $200,000 for Bitcoin by the end of the year. Kendrick stated that new ETF inflows and the potential government shutdown in the United States could drive cryptocurrency prices further up in the coming weeks. In a report to clients, Kendrick noted that Bitcoin is expected to break its historical high in a few days and could reach $135,000 in the coming weeks, slightly later than his previous prediction.

4. VanEck Executive: Bitcoin's market value should reach half of gold's after the next halving, with prices potentially hitting $644,000.

Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck, stated in a post on platform X that Bitcoin's market value should reach half of gold's market value after the next halving. About half of gold's value reflects its use as a store of value rather than industrial or jewelry demand. Surveys show that young consumers in emerging markets are increasingly inclined to choose Bitcoin to play this role. Based on the current record gold price, this implies an equivalent price of $644,000 per BTC.

5. Ministry of Finance of Vietnam: The cryptocurrency pilot will be limited to 5 licensed exchanges.

The Deputy Minister of Finance of Vietnam announced at a government press conference on Monday that the maximum number of licenses for the pilot project of cryptocurrency exchanges is set at 5, although some companies are preparing relevant systems and have had preliminary communications with officials, the Ministry of Finance has not yet received any formal applications. Industry experts have criticized the high capital requirements and regulatory uncertainties, warning that this policy favors large financial institutions and is detrimental to financial technology innovation companies.

6. XRP's market value briefly surpassed BlackRock, with potential institutional benefits driving bullish sentiment.

Finbold reported that, according to CoinMarketCap data, XRP's market capitalization once approached $183.4 billion and briefly surpassed the market capitalization of the world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, on Sunday (October 5), which was close to $180 billion at the time. Analysts believe that the support for this rally and bullish sentiment may be related to Ripple's ongoing efforts to advance its application for a national trust bank license in the United States, which would allow it to operate stablecoins under federal regulation. As the October application deadline approaches, the market is viewing this as a long-term bullish catalyst for XRP.

7. Morgan Stanley GIC will support the allocation of cryptocurrencies for financial advisors and clients.

According to a post by Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, the Morgan Stanley Global Investment Committee (GIC) has released a new special report stating, "We aim to support our financial advisors and clients, who can flexibly allocate cryptocurrencies as part of a multi-asset portfolio." It is reported that the GIC guides 16,000 advisors in managing $20 trillion in savings and wealth for their clients. Hunter Horsley commented that this marks the entry of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream.

8. FalconX: The Bitcoin options market has grown large enough to influence spot prices.

According to a report by CoinDesk, the latest analysis released by institutional digital asset major broker FalconX indicates that the scale and influence of the Bitcoin options market have significantly increased, reaching a level capable of affecting spot price movements. The large amount of open interest in the options market and its strike price distribution, particularly concentrated in the "max pain" area, has now become an important factor influencing short-term market volatility and price anchoring. This change indicates that the crypto derivatives market is no longer merely following spot trends but is increasingly becoming a dominant force in driving market structure and price discovery. FalconX has also recently launched an electronic options trading platform to meet the growing demand from institutional investors for hedging, arbitrage, and ETF-related strategies.

9. Plume Network has been approved by the SEC to register as a transfer agent, accelerating the tokenization process of RWA.

RWA Layer 2 network Plume Network announced that it has successfully obtained approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register as a Transfer Agent. This move marks a significant milestone for Plume Network in bringing real-world assets onto the blockchain, meaning it will be able to provide compliant share registration, transfer, and management services for securities tokens issued on-chain. Plume Network CEO Chris Yin has stated that the network aims to provide a compliant, open, and transparent blockchain environment for asset issuers and institutional investors. This registration makes it one of the few blockchain infrastructures with such an SEC license, which will greatly facilitate the tokenization of over 180 projects (involving $4.5 billion in assets awaiting tokenization) on its platform and further bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

10. Ondo Finance completes acquisition of Oasis Pro and obtains SEC license to expand the U.S. tokenized securities market.

The RWA (Real World Assets) tokenization protocol Ondo Finance has announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the regulated digital asset brokerage firm Oasis Pro. This strategic acquisition allows Ondo Finance to obtain a comprehensive set of licenses and infrastructure, including a broker-dealer registered with the SEC, an Alternative Trading System (ATS), and a Transfer Agent (TA), enabling it to develop and offer a compliant tokenized securities market within the United States. Oasis Pro's infrastructure supports the tokenization, issuance, transfer, and secondary trading of RWA, and it is one of the first regulated ATS in the U.S. authorized to use stablecoins for digital securities settlement. Ondo CEO Nathan Allman stated that through this merger, Ondo is committed to building a transparent, accessible, and compliant on-chain financial system, and accelerating the development of the U.S. tokenized securities market.

11. Grayscale has launched the first batch of spot crypto ETPs with staking features in the US, supporting Ethereum and Solana products first.

One of the world's largest digital asset investment platforms, Grayscale Investments, announced that its Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH) have become the first listed spot crypto ETPs in the United States to support staking functionality. Additionally, the Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) has also activated staking. By introducing staking in its Ethereum and Solana products, Grayscale aims to provide investors with opportunities to gain long-term value appreciation and yields from these networks. Grayscale CEO Peter Mintzberg stated that this reflects the company's "first-mover innovation" and emphasized that its platform is uniquely positioned to turn new opportunities like staking into investor value. After receiving regulatory approval to upgrade to an exchange-traded product, GSOL is also expected to become one of the first spot Solana ETPs to support staking.

12. CoinShares: Bitcoin's all-time high drives global crypto ETPs to record nearly $6 billion in net inflows in a single week.

The asset management company CoinShares released its weekly report showing that global cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded nearly $6 billion in net inflows last week, setting a new historical high for weekly inflows. The assets under management (AUM) were pushed to a historic high of $254 billion. This strong influx of funds was mainly driven by the surge in Bitcoin (BTC) prices to a historic high of $125,750. Among these, digital asset products in the United States dominated, with net inflows reaching a record $5 billion, of which Bitcoin ETFs alone accounted for $3.55 billion in net inflows, demonstrating extreme optimism from institutions and market sentiment towards cryptocurrency assets.

13. The Block: September CEX trading volume declined month-on-month, and market activity has cooled down somewhat.

The latest article from The Block indicates that trading activity in the cryptocurrency market slowed down in September. The total trading volume of spot and derivatives on centralized exchanges (CEX) saw a month-on-month decline compared to August, reflecting a cooling of overall market activity in the absence of new significant positive stimuli. The report data reveals that although the prices of major assets such as Bitcoin experienced fluctuations at the beginning of the month, the declining trend in trading volume suggests that market sentiment is becoming cautious, and overall liquidity has failed to maintain its previous strong levels, entering a seasonal adjustment period.

14. 21X will expand its business to the United States and plans to apply for SEC approval to establish a regulated blockchain exchange.

According to FinanceFeeds, leading institution 21X, focused on regulated on-chain trading and settlement, has announced its entry into the U.S. market, having registered an entity in Delaware and established a main office in New York. This move represents the next phase of its global growth strategy, aiming to establish a fully regulated, blockchain-based digital financial instrument exchange. 21X has held preliminary talks with the U.S. Crypto Task Force and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), showcasing its vision for faster Atomic Settlement through Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), cost reduction, and increased transparency. Building on the successful launch of its European platform and obtaining a DLT trading and settlement system license, 21X plans to submit an application for SEC approval in hopes of replicating its model in the U.S., the largest capital market in the world, trading tokenized stocks, debt instruments, and ETFs.