Experts Predict Continued Short-Term Adjustments as Uncertainties Persist
From November 3-7, the virtual asset market showed weakness due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s commencement of hearings on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and the prolonged U.S. federal government shutdown. Experts predicted that short-term adjustments in virtual assets, including Bitcoin, would continue as uncertainties remained unresolved.
As of 2:40 p.m. on the 7th, Bitcoin was traded at $102,278 per coin, down 0.94% from 24 hours earlier and 6.92% from a week prior. It had fallen to $99,500 on the 5th but rebounded slightly to surpass $100,000 again.
At a similar time, Ethereum dropped 12.75% from a week earlier to $3,358. Among altcoins, Dash (DASH) surged 152.85%, ZK (ZK) rose 133.48%, and Internet Computer (ICP) climbed 127.13%, but the overall market remained bearish.
One factor behind the market’s weakness was the Supreme Court’s start of hearings on the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs. The first hearing on the 5th focused on whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was misused, with a 27% likelihood of being ruled constitutional. A ruling of unconstitutionality could lead to refunds of $100 billion in tariffs and reduce the administration’s trade-related authority.
The prolonged U.S. federal government shutdown also posed challenges. As of the 7th, the shutdown had lasted 38 days, setting a historical record. With budget executions halted, the Department of Labor could not release key economic indicators like employment and inflation data. Criticism grew as monetary policies were being made without concrete data, dampening investor sentiment. However, some argued that liquidity would recover, citing statistics showing the S&P 500 rising an average of 12% in the year following past shutdowns.
Kim Joonseong, a researcher at Xangle, said, “Policy credibility is shaken due to the Supreme Court hearings and the prolonged shutdown, and the absence of key economic indicators is making the market’s direction ambiguous,” adding, “In the short term, volatility across risk assets is likely to remain high until uncertainties are resolved.”
◇ Stream Finance’s $93 Million Loss… DeFi Crisis Speculation Emerges
Stream Finance (Stream Finance) abruptly halted deposits and withdrawals on the 3rd (local time), citing a $93 million (approximately 135.5 billion Korean won) operational loss, raising concerns about the decentralized finance (DeFi) market. The market viewed this incident as exposing structural vulnerabilities in DeFi and estimated that risks could expand to $8 billion (approximately 11.65 trillion Korean won).
Stream grew by promising an 18% annual return on deposited virtual assets. It converted deposited assets into the stablecoin xUSD and used them as collateral to secure additional funds. This process increased loan leverage, and the $93 million loss triggered a chain reaction.
The biggest victim was Elexir, which had lent Stream approximately $68 million in stablecoins (USDC), accounting for 65% of the synthetic stablecoin (deUSD) supply. As Stream refused to repay its debt, Elexir halted deUSD operations. Consequently, Stream’s staking token (xUSD) plummeted 60% in a day, and $1 billion in funds flowed out of similar yield-bearing stablecoins — the largest outflow since the Terra-Luna collapse in 2022.
David Bailey, chairman of Bitcoin Magazine, warned, “The credit crisis in DeFi lending could spread to centralized finance (CeFi),” adding, “Now is the time to minimize risk exposure and prepare for potential cascading liquidations.”
◇ Ripple Expands Collaboration with U.S. Institutions
Ripple officially launched Ripple Prime, a platform for U.S. institutional investors, and began integrating traditional finance with the virtual asset market. Institutions can now trade major virtual assets, including Ripple (XRP) and the stablecoin RLUSD, over-the-counter in spot markets.
Ripple also drew attention by unveiling a stablecoin-based credit card payment project developed in collaboration with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini. The virtual asset market expects Ripple to partially replace existing payment infrastructure.
Ripple raised its corporate value to $40 billion (approximately 57 trillion Korean won) after Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities finalized a $500 million investment. Notably, RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization within a year of its launch, expanding its presence in the payment market.
The virtual asset market assessed that Ripple’s aggressive moves are breaking down barriers between traditional finance and the virtual asset market. A Xangle official said, “Ripple has recently executed consecutive share buybacks and large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A),” adding, “It is expanding from payment services to custody, stablecoins, and prime brokerage.”
☞ CrossAngle (CrossAngle) is
CrossAngle provides essential operational solutions based on on-chain data and builds trust-based communities for companies and foundations adopting Web3. It operates the crypto data intelligence platform Xangle, and the Xangle Research Team creates content to showcase trends in the virtual asset investment industry based on global virtual asset information and data.
