Bitcoin and Altcoins Rebound as Regulatory Shifts Boost Market Sentiment

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The US is set to release key CPI data, with expectations of a Fed rate cut supporting risk assets. Japan's FSA plans to allow banks to hold and trade crypto, signaling a major regulatory shift. The UK has lifted its ban on crypto investment products, enabling broader retail access.

Crypto Market

The crypto market rebounded in the past 12 hours, led by Bitcoin up 2.05% to $110,286 and Ethereum up 0.42% to $3,963.73, as ETF outflows slowed. Altcoins showed strong gains: FLOKI Inu surged 18.2%, DASH rose 10.1%, and Zcash climbed 10.1%, driven by renewed risk appetite and social media momentum.

Today's Outlook

No major token unlocks or impactful events are scheduled for October 21, 2025. Market focus remains on macroeconomic data and anticipation of the US Senate's crypto regulation roundtable and upcoming token unlocks later in the week.

Fear and Greed Index

22.00% Annual Percentile

30 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.74T

2.24%

Total Market Trading Volume

$163.58B

17.56%

Altcoin Season Index

16.67%

Quarterly Percentile

27 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.51B

2.02%

Futures

827.57B

14.67%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The U.S. Labor Department will release September CPI data on October 24, with markets expecting this inflation print to heavily influence Federal Reserve rate cut decisions and short-term Bitcoin price volatility.

Federal Reserve officials are increasingly signaling a likely interest rate cut at the upcoming October policy meeting, with market participants pricing in a 25-50 basis point reduction, which is supporting risk asset sentiment including crypto.

China's Q3 GDP growth slowed to 4.8% year-over-year, reflecting property sector weakness and trade tensions; this moderation in Chinese economic momentum may dampen global risk appetite and crypto inflows.

U.S. government shutdown has delayed key economic data and created uncertainty in financial markets, leading to increased volatility in both equities and crypto, as investors await clarity on fiscal policy and data releases.

Massive outflows from U.S. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last week, totaling over $1.5 billion, reflect shifting macro expectations and have contributed to heightened volatility and liquidity stress in the crypto market.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

Japan's Financial Services Agency is preparing to allow banks to hold and trade cryptocurrencies, signaling a major regulatory shift that could boost institutional adoption and market liquidity.

Top U.S. crypto executives will meet Senate Democrats on October 22 to discuss DeFi regulation and market structure, with potential impacts on future U.S. crypto legislation and investor confidence.

Coinbase has urged the U.S. Treasury to modernize anti-money laundering rules, proposing regulatory sandboxes and advanced on-chain analytics, which could shape future compliance standards for digital assets.

South Korea is finalizing legislation to introduce and regulate stablecoins, aiming to require issuers to hold high-quality reserves and obtain licenses, which may enhance user protection and market stability.

The UK has lifted its ban on crypto-linked investment products, enabling BlackRock to launch a Bitcoin ETP on the London Stock Exchange, expanding regulated access for retail investors.

Floki Inu (FLOKI): FLOKI surged 18.2% in 24h, driven by Elon Musk's viral X post featuring his dog FLOKI as 'CEO', sparking a 25-30% price rally and 786% volume spike.

DASH (DASH): DASH rose 10.1% in 24h with $202M turnover, benefiting from renewed altcoin interest and increased trading activity as privacy coins gain market attention.

Zcash (ZEC): ZEC climbed 10.1% in 24h, leading altcoin gains amid a broader market rebound, with analysts highlighting ZEC's bullish momentum and strong privacy narrative.

Smart Money Movements

MicroStrategy acquired 168 Bitcoin for $18.8 million at an average price of $112,051 per BTC, increasing its total holdings to 640,418 BTC as of October 19, 2025.

BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased approximately 203,800 ETH last week, raising its total Ethereum holdings to 3.24 million ETH, valued at over $13 billion.

BlackRock deposited 12,000 Ethereum, worth $48.6 million, into Coinbase Prime within the past 24 hours, highlighting ongoing institutional engagement with ETH.

A whale transferred 250 million DOGE, valued at $49.94 million, from an unknown wallet to Robinhood, drawing attention to large-scale Dogecoin movements.

A whale moved $190.21 million USDC from Binance to Aave, borrowed 20,000 ETH (about $80.62 million), and sent the ETH back to Binance, demonstrating significant DeFi leveraging activity.

Events to Watch

Oct 22 (Wed)

US Senate Democrats meet crypto executives on ETF legislation, DeFi oversight, and stablecoin policy; Ethereum World Fair scholarship application deadline.

Oct 23 (Thu)

Toncoin (TON) unlocks $80M in tokens; Meteora launches MET token and airdrop, distributing 25% of supply; US Initial Jobless Claims data released.

Oct 24 (Fri)

US CPI, Core CPI, and inflation data for September released; Avalanche unlocks $33.9M in tokens; Japan and UK CPI data published.

Oct 25 (Sat)

Plasma (XPL) unlocks $36.9M in tokens; Venom unlocks $6.5M; Humanity (H) unlocks $7.3M, all at 8:00 AM/PM Beijing time.

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