Bitcoin, Ethereum Fall as Altcoins Surge; Fed Rate Cut Fails to Boost Market
The virtual asset market slightly declined from October 27 to 31, despite expectations of a trade deal through the U.S.-China summit and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut decision. On October 31, Bitcoin fell 0.47% from the previous week to $109,331, while Ethereum dropped 0.37% to $3,854. In the altcoin market, Virtual Protocol, VIRTUAL, +68.12%, Humanity Protocol, H, +64.63%, and Zcash, ZEC, +37.50%, showed strong performance.
The biggest issue of the week was the progress in trade negotiations through the summit between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 30th. The two countries agreed to reduce fentanyl tariffs from 20% to 10% and postpone export controls on rare earths from China for one year. Additionally, China resumed imports of 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans and agreed to the TikTok sale process. However, detailed negotiations on key industrial issues such as technology and semiconductors remain unresolved.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) results announced the same week showed the Fed maintained a relatively cautious stance, contrary to market expectations. The Fed lowered the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.00-4.25% and announced plans to end quantitative tightening (QT) starting in December. In a press conference, Chair Powell acknowledged room for easing, stating, “Inflationary pressures from tariffs will be one-time,” but drew a line against excessive liquidity expansion, noting, “Asset prices are significantly overvalued.”
Although interest rates were cut, market reactions were limited due to conflicting opinions on the pace of further easing. The New York stock market shifted to an upward trend as shutdown resolution prospects and tariff easing expectations converged. However, short-term profit-taking in the virtual asset market restricted gains.
Kim Joon-sung, a Xangle researcher, said, “Although there were expectations of a trade deal and the Fed’s rate cut, policy uncertainties remain,” adding, “Given the upcoming release of key indicators like CPI, it is necessary to be cautious about short-term price volatility.”
◇ Securitize Pursues Nasdaq Listing… A Signal Shot for Capital Market Tokenization
Securitize, a security token infrastructure company, is pursuing a Nasdaq listing through a SPAC merger with Cantor Fitzgerald LP II (CEPT). The company is currently valued at $1.25 billion, with the ticker symbol ‘SECZ’ planned for listing. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of next year, pending regulatory approvals. The deal includes a $225 million PIPE investment and could bring in up to $469 million in new funds, combining CEPT trust funds.
Securitize plans to demonstrate a fully on-chain listing model by tokenizing its shares on the blockchain upon listing, handling public offerings, trading, and distribution on-chain. Securitize is a tokenization infrastructure provider with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration, broker-dealer, ATS, advisory, and fund management licenses. Existing investors, including BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and VanEck, have chosen to maintain their 100% stakes. The company has issued $4-4.5 billion in securities and RWA, tokenizing institutional products such as BlackRock BUIDL MMF and KKR Healthcare Fund.
The industry views this listing as the “entry into the public market” for the institutional tokenization sector. If Securitize succeeds, tokenized funds and on-chain securities markets could expand, with large asset managers and banks likely to follow. Securitize plans to accelerate the construction of a global tokenization distribution and liquidity hub, integrating with multiple mainnets (15 connected) and DeFi/stablecoin infrastructure.
◇ Circle Unveils Self-Developed Blockchain Network ‘Arc’
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, officially launched the public testnet of its self-developed blockchain network ‘Arc’ on the 28th (local time). Arc is defined by Circle as a new “Economic OS for the internet,” an institutional blockchain involving global financial institutions and tech companies. Over 100 institutions, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, Amazon, Mastercard, and Visa, participated in the testnet.
Circle aims to build infrastructure enabling various financial services — global payments, foreign exchange (FX), loans, and capital markets — to operate in an on-chain environment. Key features include predictable dollar-based fees, transaction finality under one second, optional privacy, and direct integration with Circle’s USDC payment system. Additionally, issuers of fiat-collateralized stablecoins in South Korea (KRW1), Japan (JPYC), Brazil (BRLA), Mexico (MXNB), and the Philippines (PHPC) joined the testnet, expanding Arc as a global payment network.
This testnet launch marks a turning point as a stablecoin issuer moves beyond payment solutions to build a blockchain ecosystem at the global financial infrastructure level.
☞ CrossAngle Is
CrossAngle provides on-chain data-based essential operational solutions and trust-based community-building services 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 global virtual asset investment industry based on virtual asset information and data.
