Summary
- Crypto roundup for Wednesday shows cautious optimism among traders ahead of the key FOMC Minutes.
- Bitcoin struggles to defend a corrective bounce, Gold keeps refreshing its ATH for the third consecutive day, while the U.S. Dollar remains firmer.
- Trump rules out mass layoffs for federal employees, despite not confirming backpay for furloughed workers.
- Multiple Fed officials spoke, but failed to offer any strong direction while defending a dovish bias.
- Political plays in France and Japan keep being interesting and challenge the optimists.
- Crypto market developments also support a corrective bounce in prices after the heaviest slump in almost two weeks for most coins.
- U.S. equities begin Wednesday’s trading on a mixed note, following a downbeat daily closing by the major benchmarks.
- FOMC Minutes, risk catalysts eyed for clear directions.
Crypto Roundup for Wednesday: Cautious Optimism Prevails…
The risk complex remains cautiously positive early Wednesday in New York as concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass firing of federal workers during the government shutdown eased. The optimism also gained support from the dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) bias, the absence of major risk events, and positioning for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Minutes. Meanwhile, political drama in France and Japan, coupled with the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, and fears surrounding Russia and Gaza, challenged the optimism.
Notably, talks about the U.S. Dollar “debasement trade” also gained momentum and challenged the market’s optimism. As per Reuters, a growing number of investors are turning to non-dollar assets like gold and bitcoin as confidence in major currencies wanes. The write-up also adds that gold’s rally is driven not by crisis, but by fears of U.S. fiscal strain, rising debt, and policy dysfunction, which Wall Street now calls the “debasement trade.”
CNN reported that the Trump administration changed its plans for federal layoffs, as more Republican lawmakers and officials acknowledged the political risks. The White House is now delaying layoff notices.
Trump also decided not to provide financial aid to farmers due to the shutdown, although he and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy supported backpay for furloughed workers.
Several Federal Reserve officials spoke out, but failed to provide any clear guidance about the U.S. central bank’s next move. That said, Trump-appointed Fed Governor Stephen Miran noted that the neutral interest rate is influenced by large population shifts, but Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it’s too early to determine if tariffs will cause persistent inflation. Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic mentioned AI’s disruptive potential, and San Francisco Fed President Mary C. Daly stated there’s no evidence yet of mass job losses due to AI.
Lee Hardman of MUFG Bank flagged speculation that France may hold parliamentary elections before the year’s end, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) delayed an extraordinary Diet session, scheduled for October 20 or later, as new party leader Sanae Takaichi and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito failed to agree on the motions. This will also postpone the formal vote for a successor to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Crypto, Equity Update
Crypto currency traders consolidate the previous day’s heavy loss, despite lacking upside momentum of late.
With this, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) pare the heaviest slump in a fortnight, while bouncing off a week’s low. Meanwhile, Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX) rise over 1.0% each, whereas Binance Coin (BNB) remains mildly bid after hitting an all-time high the previous day, and Ethena (ENA) hits a fresh two-month low.
Notably, the Bitcoin Dominance improves to 58.4%, from 58.1%, but the crypto market capitalization (market cap) drops 2.5% on the day to $4.19 trillion as we write, per the CoinMarketCap data.
Among the major news, Fasset, a digital banking and investing platform with offices in Jakarta and Dubai, gained a provisional license from Malaysia to run the first Stablecoin-powered Islamic digital bank.
Elsewhere, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined 19 crypto-linked companies for operating without licenses and violating marketing laws.
Meanwhile, YZi Labs announced a $1 billion investment through the YZi Labs Builder Fund, allocated exclusively for founders within the BNB ecosystem. The latest action will target Decentralized finance (DeFi), Real-world assets (RWA), Artificial intelligence (AI), and Decentralized science (DeSci).
Also Read: YZi Labs Builder Fund Deploys $1B to Supercharge BNB Ecosystem
A blockchain analytics firm, Elliptic, stated that North Korea crypto hackers have broken previous records by stealing over $2 billion in digital assets during 2025 alone, nearly tripling last year’s total. The article also cites the United Nations (UN) and several intelligence agencies confirming a significant portion of the funds is being applied to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development programs.
More Details: North Korea Crypto Hackers Smash Record with $2 Billion Stolen in 2025
Plume Network, a Layer-2 blockchain, secures registration from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to act as a transfer agent to manage digital securities. This is considered an important development moment for the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and fueled the PLUME token by more than 25%.
Read More: Plume Network Secures SEC Registration for Tokenized Securities Breakthrough
While some of the top crypto news are discussed above, more updates like this could be traced to our Coin Bytes.
In the case of the U.S. equities, Wall Street begins Wednesday’s trading on mixed signals. That said, Dow Jones prints mild losses, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both modestly positive by press time.
On Tuesday, all three major U.S. equity indexes ended trading day with modest losses, even as both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set new all-time highs (ATH) during the initial trading hours.
That said, Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI is raising up to $20 billion, with Nvidia investing up to $2 billion in equity and supplying GPUs for xAI’s new Colossus 2 data center. The deal also includes GPU-backed debt from Apollo, Valor, and Diameter. The transaction gains criticism from market watchers as it creates a loop of capital and revenue among AI companies, which in turn inflates the valuation without contributing to substantial business growth and renewing fears of the dot-com bubble.
- Gold bulls keep the reins, up for the fourth consecutive day to refresh its ATH near $4,050, close to $4,038 by press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) pares losses, mildly bid near $122,500 despite lacking upside momentum.
- Ethereum (ETH) posts modest gains, paring the biggest daily loss in two weeks around $4,475 as we write.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) hits two-month high, up for the third consecutive day despite retreating from the daily and multi-week top of 98.99 to 98.79 at the latest.
- Wall Street benchmarks trade mixed, after a downbeat day, with Dow Jones posting mild losses, whereas S&P 500 and Nasdaq gain around 0.20% each.
- WTI Crude Oil prints a four-day uptrend, despite lacking upside momentum near $62.20 as we write.
More Volatility Ahead…
Market players may witness a volatile day ahead, with key events and developments set to influence the landscape. The FOMC Minutes and speeches from several Federal Reserve officials will be closely watched. Also, important to watch will be ongoing news surrounding the U.S. government shutdown, Trump’s political maneuvers, and global developments in Japan and France, as well as escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding Gaza and Ukraine.
Against this backdrop, the U.S. Dollar is likely to see further upside momentum after recently clearing a two-month resistance level. However, Gold, equities, and cryptocurrencies may remain supported, maintaining their strength amid market uncertainty and safe-haven demand.
