Crypto Market Rebounds as DeFi Tokens Surge After Tariff-Driven Crash

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

President Trump's 100% China tariff announcement triggered a sharp sell-off in global risk assets, with Bitcoin dropping nearly 17%. The US government shutdown delayed September CPI data to October 24, increasing market uncertainty and volatility. The Federal Reserve's recent rate cut and signals of further easing have supported risk-on sentiment, but the US dollar remains strong amid trade tensions.

Crypto Market

The crypto market rebounded after a sharp sell-off driven by US-China tariff news, with BTC down 0.77% at $114,710 and ETH up 1.77% at $4,231.84. DeFi tokens outperformed: SNX surged 27.5%, ENA rose 14.8%, and CRV gained 13.4%, fueled by renewed protocol activity and strong on-chain metrics. Most altcoins saw mixed trends, with DeFi leading gains.

Today's Outlook

Today's major events include the unlock of 8.46 million ETHFI tokens worth $10.58M and 96.54 million Dogecoin tokens valued at $20.31M, both potentially impacting market liquidity and price volatility.

Fear and Greed Index

64.00% Annual Percentile

40 Neutral

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.94T

0.66%

Total Market Trading Volume

$230.51B

12.62%

Altcoin Season Index

33.33%

Quarterly Percentile

41 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.51B

4.07%

Futures

968.43B

7.09%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The US government shutdown has delayed the September CPI release to October 24, creating a data vacuum that increases volatility in crypto markets as traders lack key inflation signals for risk assessment.

President Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1 triggered a sharp sell-off in global risk assets, with Bitcoin dropping nearly 17% before rebounding, highlighting crypto's sensitivity to trade policy shocks.

The US dollar surged as investors sought safe havens amid renewed US-China trade tensions, pressuring BTC and DeFi liquidity as capital rotated out of risk assets and into USD and gold.

The Federal Reserve's recent rate cut and signals of further easing have led to lower US mortgage rates, supporting risk-on sentiment and potentially increasing capital flows into crypto assets as borrowing costs decline.

India's CPI inflation fell to an 8-year low of 1.54% in September, increasing the likelihood of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in December, which could boost regional crypto demand through improved liquidity conditions.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The Financial Stability Board warned the G20 that crypto and stablecoins pose systemic risks, urging stronger global regulatory frameworks, which may increase compliance costs and market scrutiny.

Kenya's parliament passed new crypto legislation, establishing licensing for stablecoins and exchanges, likely boosting investor confidence and attracting global crypto platforms to Africa.

The Banque de France and Euroclear launched a tokenized commercial paper project, integrating wholesale CBDC pilots, signaling growing regulatory support for blockchain in traditional finance.

Uniswap Labs implemented IP-based geoblocking for Ukraine to comply with OFAC sanctions, intensifying the debate over DeFi compliance and access restrictions in decentralized protocols.

Recent regulatory focus has shifted from anti-money laundering to financial stability, as highlighted by the FSB, increasing the likelihood of stricter oversight and potential market volatility.

Synthetix (SNX): SNX surged 27.5% in 24h with $1.02B volume, driven by renewed DeFi interest and high protocol activity after recent governance and product upgrades.

Ethena (ENA): ENA rose 14.8% in 24h, trading $748M, as TVL hit $12.76B and user growth accelerated following new integrations and strong synthetic dollar demand.

Curve DAO (CRV): CRV gained 13.4% in 24h with $270M volume, supported by increased DeFi trading, liquidity incentives, and renewed staking participation on Curve Finance.

Smart Money Movements

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) acquired 220 Bitcoin for $27.2 million at an average price of $123,561 per BTC, increasing its total holdings to 640,250 BTC as of October 12, 2025.

MARA Holdings purchased an additional 400 BTC worth $46.31 million via FalconX, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 52,850 BTC valued at approximately $6.12 billion.

BitMine Immersion Technologies increased its Ethereum holdings by 202,037 ETH, investing $828 million during the recent market downturn, and now holds over 3.03 million ETH, representing 2.5% of total supply.

A crypto whale secured a $160 million profit in 30 hours by shorting Bitcoin and Ethereum during the recent market crash, capitalizing on nearly $20 billion in liquidations.

Tether boosted its reserves by increasing allocations in Bitcoin and gold, with its tokenized gold (XAUt) now backed by over 7.66 tons of physical gold as of June 2025.

Events to Watch

Oct 14 (Tue)

ETHFI will unlock 8.46 million tokens worth $10.58M; Dogecoin releases 96.54 million tokens valued at $20.31M; DRB unlocks 618.33 million tokens worth $18.28M.

Oct 15 (Wed)

55.56M SEI tokens (~$18M) and 127M STRK tokens ($16.49M) unlock; Ethereum options worth $2.1B set to expire; Intuition TRUST and Recall Labs hold Token Generation Events.

Oct 16 (Thu)

Fed Chair Powell speaks at NABE Annual Meeting; SEC to decide on Solana ETF; U.S. PPI and retail data released; 92.65M ARB tokens ($30.69M) unlock.

Oct 17 (Fri)

Eurozone inflation data released; Apecoin unlocks 15.6M tokens ($6.75M).

Oct 18 (Sat)

Fasttoken unlocks 20M FTN tokens ($40.2M); SEC deadline for six spot XRP ETF decisions; Arbitrum DAO governance vote concludes.

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