Wall Street finished the week with gains on Friday, following a turbulent week that witnessed the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decision to hold rates, while traders priced in the Fed finished its tightening cycle. Consequently, US stocks rose, the Greenback dropped, and US bond yields plunged. Apart from this, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and China’s economic woes further contribute to the bid tone around the safe haven gold price. That said, a generally positive tone around the equity markets holds back bulls from placing fresh bets and keeps the precious metal below the $2,000 psychological mark. Investors also seem reluctant ahead of the US jobs report, which could provide cues about the Fed’s rate-hike path and provide a fresh impetus to the XAU/USD.
Bitcoin price spent most of the week stuck between $34,000 and $35,000, with every attempt to break to the upside so far even hitting a fresh yearly high, almost touching $36,000 early Thursday. Meanwhile, large-cap tokens of layer 1 Network, such as Avalanche, Cardano and Polkadot jumped 10%-15% over the same time frame and Solana hit a 14-month high Wednesday and Friday afternoon and remained higher by 25% over the previous seven days.
Gold Market
Gold prices gained on Friday and hovered around the key $2,000 mark as U.S. dollar and Treasury yields slipped after weak U.S. job data. The disappointing employment numbers have created solid buying momentum, with gold prices trading near session highs. December gold futures last traded at $2,006.40 an ounce, up 0.66% on the day. HSBC, a leading bullion bank, has launched a ground-breaking initiative to modernise the London gold market by utilising blockchain technology. with central banks purchasing a record amount of 387 tonnes of gold during the first half of the year, and the world’s appetite for the precious metal is blowing other alternative assets away, according to Ruth Crowell, CEO of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
Crypto Markets
Bitcoin (BTC) continues to circle its highest levels in 18 months, and bullish BTC price predictions are flowing in. The mood among crypto traders and analysts has improved over the past month after “Uptober. The price of Bitcoin increased by 30% in October, from $26,900 at the beginning of the month to $34,296 by the end of the month. Based on past statistics, November has shown to be a robust month for Bitcoin, with an approximately 38% increase following April. This encouraging pattern points to possible growth in November.
Ethereum has returned to a similar price, currently trading at above $1,800. Ethereum net exchange deposits have hit a five-month peak, recording up to 127,183 ETH flowing into exchanges. Ethereum (ETH) price was in a consolidation phase for around two months, trapped between $1,748 and $1,591 as its correlation to Bitcoin (BTC) price drew towards the negative. Optimism, or a lack thereof, for exchange-traded funds (ETF) for either asset was the main factor that inspired the wedge as institution players such as Ark Invest pushed to see which product the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) would approve first.
Cryptocurrency ETFs have been a hot topic for several years. An ETF’s attraction stems from its ability to provide investors with exposure to cryptocurrencies without the hassles of owning and holding digital assets. While the principle is simple, regulatory obstacles and worries about market manipulation have slowed the acceptance of these investment vehicles. Purpose Investments in Canada created the first Bitcoin ETF in North America in February 2021. This event was a watershed moment for Bitcoin adoption in traditional finance. Following that, additional Canadian ETF providers, such as Evolve Funds Group and CI Global Asset Management, launched Bitcoin ETFs.
Crypto Project News
XRP may now be available in up to 72 countries within the MEASA (Middle East, Africa, and South Asia) region following its recent regulatory approval by Dubai within the DIFC. The Crypto Basic recently disclosed that the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent financial services regulatory body in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), approved XRP under its digital asset regime. The approval would give licensed crypto-focused companies operating within the DIFC the liberty to offer all forms of crypto-related services for XRP, including trading, lending, and others. According to the announcement, XRP became the first crypto asset the regulatory agency granted legal and regulatory approval from an external application under its crypto asset regime within the DIFC. XRP joins other digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), but these did not get approved through an external application.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up, xAI, is gearing up to launch its first AI model this week, creating ripples of anticipation within the tech and crypto communities. Musk, who heads X, shared the news via social media, expressing confidence in the model’s capabilities, stating it is “the best that currently exists” in specific aspects. Earlier this year, Musk vowed to introduce an AI model dedicated to seeing the maximum truth, challenging the efforts of major tech companies in the field. xAI boasts a team of experts from Google’s DeepMind and other leading AI research firms.
Fiat-Pegged Token Market Grows Modestly in October, With First Digital and Tether Leading the Charge Last month, tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, experienced a 1.9% increase in its supply, bringing its current market valuation to approximately $84.98 billion. At the close of September 30, 2023, the crypto asset’s market cap stood at $83.22 billion. Notably, across 456 crypto exchanges that list Tether, the stablecoin recorded $19.79 billion in global trade volume over the past 24 hours, accounting for more than 27% of the total $71.77 billion in trades conducted during the same period across the entire ecosystem.
Regulation
A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The FTX founder faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Charles Randell, former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has criticised the UK government’s plans to regulate the crypto industry in a way like traditional financial investments. His comment comes as the UK government is moving forward with its plans to regulate the cryptocurrency industry. In a consultation paper published on Monday, the government outlined its intention to introduce formal legislation for crypto activities by 2024. The proposed regulations will bring various crypto asset activities under the same rules that govern banks and other financial services firms. These regulations also include stricter rules for exchanges, custodians, and crypto lending companies, as well as measures to combat market abuse and enhance disclosure standards.
Canada and Europe lead Data from the report shows that Canada and Europe are the main markets for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with seven in Canada and 10 in Europe. Since spot Bitcoin ETF assets amount to $4.16 Billion globally in total assets across 20 available offerings, Canada at $2 billion makes up 48.2% of the total, with its population of 40 million.
Disclaimer
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