Summary
- Crypto roundup for Thursday shows mixed sentiment amid downbeat U.S. data, dovish Fed expectations, firmer Q3 earnings, and trade war fears.
- Bitcoin and U.S. Dollar Index both stay pressured, but Gold keeps refreshing its ATH.
- Philly Fed Manufacturing Index hits six-month low in October, bolstering dovish Fed bets despite U.S.-China trade tensions.
- Trump confirms trade war with China, U.S. OMB Director Vought confirms plans to cut 10,000 federal jobs amid government shutdown.
- Fed’s Waller, Barkin, and Miran all sound dovish, favoring two more rate cuts in 2025.
- Major U.S. companies marked upbeat Q3 earnings, but Wall Street bulls stay cautious.
- Cryptocurrencies remain indecisive amid shutdown drag, despite upbeat industry news.
Crypto Roundup for Thursday: A Fragile Optimism In Place
Thursday’s market sentiment remains barely positive, struggling to keep buyers on board, as traders juggle between the U.S.-China trade war fears, downbeat U.S. data, dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) concerns and the strong third-quarter (Q3) earnings reports from Wall Street. All these catalysts join the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, as well as looming fears of more permanent layoffs by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, to keep traders on edge.
Amid these plays, Bitcoin (BTC) drops for the third consecutive day to $110K, while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) also posts a three-day losing streak as bears attack a key resistance-turned-support around 98.40. Still, the spot gold (XAU) keeps refreshing its all-time high (ATH) during its five-day winning streak, recently jumping to $4,266.
Bloomberg quotes Trump while confirming the U.S.-China trade war fears. The news quotes Trump saying, “Well, you’re in one now,” as a reporter asked if the world’s two largest economies are in for a sustained trade war if they cannot reach a trade deal.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. wants to help China but warned its coercive tactics would hurt its own economy. On the same line, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer also said that China is taking actions as if it wants to decouple.
As per CNBC, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought confirmed the Trump administration plans to cut 10,000 federal jobs during the government shutdown.
Elsewhere, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that there has been a noticeable shift in the jobs market, highlighting the need for dovish actions. On the same line, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller mentioned, current data to justify hopes of facing a 25 basis points (bps) rate cut at the upcoming meeting. Further, Fed Governor Stephen Miran also backed market expectations for two more rate cuts this year.
Talking about the data, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for October slumped to a six-month low of -12.8 versus 8.6 expected and 23.2 prior.
On a different page, the French government survived both no-confidence motions in today’s vote, allowing the struggling party to live for one more day to fight.
Crypto, Equity Update
Cryptocurrency markets face a mixed day after a two-day losing streak, with major coins struggling to cheer downbeat U.S. data and dovish Fed bets amid mixed trade and geopolitical news.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP) both drop 0.20% intraday, but Ethereum (ETH) rises over 0.50% on a day by press time. That said, Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), Cardano (ADA), Mantle (MNT), and Tron (TRX) all post modest intraday losses, even after starting the day with small gains. Meanwhile, Aster gains 2.0%, whereas Binance Coin snaps a three-day losing streak with over 2.0% intraday upside by press time.
Notably, the Bitcoin Dominance improves slightly to 58.7% from 58.6, but the crypto market capitalization (market cap) drops 1.78% on the day to $3.74 trillion by press time, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the major news, Ethereum remains the most preferred blockchain for developers, gains attention. That said, the ETH owner’s developer growth surpassed all its peers during the January-September period, with 16,181 new developers joining the ecosystem to mark the total as 31,869. That said, Solana and Bitcoin trailed Ethereum in that order, as far as the developer growth is concerned.
Elsewhere, a global cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, OKX, collaborates with Standard Chartered to offer regulated custody services to its clients and gains institutional confidence in Europe.
On the same line, Kraken also acquired Small Exchange for $100 million to provide holistic services to its U.S. clients and gain more grip on the Western markets.
Erebor Bank, which is backed by billionaire Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey, gains the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approval to act as a national trust bank with clear permission for digital asset businesses. This will allow it to bridge the gap in traditional banking services for the technology and digital asset industries, while trying to be a replacement for Silicon Valley Bank.
Read Details: Erebor Bank, Backed by Peter Thiel, Gets U.S. Nod as Crypto-Friendly Rival
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) aims to build a historic Bitcoin compensation fund to help over 128,000 Chinese victims of a massive investment scam out of the seized BTC valued at around £5.5 billion.
Also Read: UK Forges Landmark Bitcoin Compensation Fund for £5.5Bbn Fraud Victims
The Paxos Trust Company faced a classic error of minting $300 trillion worth of stablecoins, larger than the entire global money supply, before reversing the mistake by making the right figure of $300 million.
More Details: Paxos PYUSD Mint Mistake Creates a $300 Trillion Phantom
Some of the top crypto news are mentioned above, while more updates like this could be traced to our Coin Bytes.
In the case of the U.S. equities, benchmark stock indices begin the trading day on a firmer footing, with mild gains, though, as dovish Fed bias joins upbeat Q3 earnings season. That said, Dow Jones struggles to defend the day-start gains, up 0.10%, and the S&P 500 rises around 0.30% intraday, whereas the Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posts 0.50% intraday upside by press time.
Before New York markets opened, The Charles Schwab Corporation, Interactive Brokers Group, Marsh & McLennan Companies, and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation all reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter (Q3), offering a positive start to Wall Street.
On Wednesday, the U.S. equities cheered upbeat earnings from Bank of America (BofA) and Morgan Stanley, as well as HSBC’s upward revision to Nvidia stocks, during the initial hours before paring some gains and ending the trading day on a mixed note. That said, Dow Jones closed with a 0.04% intraday loss, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the day on a positive note.
Key Asset Moves
- Gold hits another ATH, to $4,260, during its five-day winning streak.
- Bitcoin (BTC) stays pressured, down for the third consecutive day to $110K as we write.
- Ethereum (ETH) snaps two-day losing streak, mildly bid near $4,050 by press time.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) remains pressured, down for the third straight day near 98.45 at the latest.
- Wall Street benchmarks rise, with Dow Jones up 0.20%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rise 0.30% and 0.50% intraday respectively.
- WTI Crude Oil retreats, reversing the previous day’s rebound from a 5.5-month low to $58.30 as we write.
Qualitative Factors Stay in Focus…
Moving forward, Traders will focus on the U.S. Dollar, which is testing a key support level and could rebound if risk sentiment worsens.
This potential dollar rebound may challenge gold’s rally and add pressure on cryptocurrencies, while equities could edge higher if Q3 earnings continue to impress.
That said, uncertainty around the timing of U.S. data releases due to the government shutdown keeps markets cautious, but the recent jump in the dovish Fed bets, especially amid the U.S.-China trade tensions, can indirectly help the risk assets.
Also read: Cryptocurrency Weekly Price Prediction: BTC, ETH & XRP Plummet under U.S. Risk Pressure
