Crypto Market Surges as Bitcoin and Ethereum Rally on ETF Inflows, ZEC Leads Gains

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The US government shutdown is delaying key economic data, increasing market uncertainty and volatility. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates in October, weakening the dollar and supporting crypto inflows. Gold's surge to record highs and a weak US labor market are boosting demand for non-sovereign assets like Bitcoin.

Crypto Market

The crypto market rallied in the past 12 hours, led by strong ETF inflows and renewed institutional demand. Bitcoin rose 3.5% to $117,185 and Ethereum gained 3.9% to $4,307, both rebounding above key levels. Zcash (+33%), PUMP.fun (+21%), and SPX6900 (+14%) outperformed, driven by privacy coin demand and Solana meme coin momentum.

Today's Outlook

Key events today include the US ADP Employment Change, ISM Manufacturing PMI, and S&P Global Manufacturing PMI releases, which may drive volatility. Major token unlocks for SUI and Plume could impact liquidity and price action in those ecosystems.

Fear and Greed Index

94.00% Annual Percentile

43 Neutral

Total Crypto Market Cap

$4.00T

3.01%

Total Market Trading Volume

$186.17B

7.40%

Altcoin Season Index

0.00%

Quarterly Percentile

56 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.58B

3.32%

Futures

1.23T

10.82%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The U.S. government officially entered a shutdown, causing delays in key economic data releases such as Non-Farm Payrolls. This data blackout increases market uncertainty and may heighten volatility in Bitcoin and DEFI liquidity as traders lack macro guidance.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut rates again in October, with futures pricing in a 95% probability. This dovish outlook has weakened the U.S. dollar and supported risk assets, fueling capital inflows into Bitcoin and altcoins.

India's central bank (RBI) held its repo rate steady at 5.5% and raised its FY26 GDP growth forecast to 6.8%, despite U.S. tariffs on Indian exports. The stable policy stance and strong growth outlook support INR stability and may encourage further crypto adoption in India.

Gold surged to a record $3,900 per ounce as investors sought safe havens amid U.S. fiscal uncertainty. The parallel rally in Bitcoin suggests increased demand for non-sovereign stores of value, boosting crypto market sentiment and on-chain activity.

The ADP employment report showed a surprise drop of 32,000 jobs in September, signaling labor market weakness. This increases expectations for further Fed easing, which could drive additional liquidity into crypto markets and support higher BTC and ETH prices.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing on digital asset taxation, aiming to clarify crypto tax rules and compliance, which could impact investor reporting and market transparency.

Abu Dhabi has banned cryptocurrency mining on farmland, imposing fines and service cutoffs, reflecting stricter resource and environmental controls that may affect regional mining operations.

Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency dismantled the RAKS crypto exchange for laundering $224 million, freezing wallets and USDT, signaling intensified global anti-money laundering enforcement in crypto.

YY Group partnered with Singapore's Obita to integrate stablecoin payments for gig workers, highlighting regulatory acceptance and growing use of compliant stablecoin infrastructure in cross-border payments.

Circle launched the USYC tokenized money market fund on Solana for non-U.S. investors, requiring KYC/AML, showing increased regulatory-compliant tokenized asset offerings in DeFi.

Zcash (ZEC): ZEC surged 29% in 24h to $90.70 with $382.8M volume and $1.47B market cap, driven by strong privacy coin demand and high trading activity.

Pump.fun (PUMP): PUMP jumped 21% in 24h to $0.0068, with $874M volume and $2.4B market cap, fueled by Solana ecosystem meme coin momentum and user engagement.

SPX6900 (SPX): SPX rose 14% in 24h to $1.08, with $47.5M volume and $1B market cap, supported by meme token hype and increased Solana-based trading interest.

Smart Money Movements

Tether acquired 8,888 Bitcoin worth approximately $1 billion, raising its total BTC reserves to nearly 10,940 BTC and reinforcing its position as a leading private Bitcoin holder.

Metaplanet purchased 5,268 Bitcoin for about $615.6 million, increasing its total holdings to 30,823 BTC and becoming the fourth largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder.

On September 30, crypto ETFs saw inflows of $429.9 million in Bitcoin and $127.5 million in Ethereum, reflecting renewed institutional demand for digital assets.

A major whale invested $31.13 million in XPL, acquiring 29.27 million tokens after depositing 31.52 million USDC into Hyperliquid, signaling confidence in stablecoin payment blockchains.

Ethereum whales accumulated $110 million in ETH, including two wallets receiving 51,255 ETH ($213 million) from FalconX within 10 hours, indicating strong bullish sentiment.

Events to Watch

Oct 1 (Wed)

US ADP Employment Change, ISM Manufacturing PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, and Eurozone inflation data will be released; blocmates validator goes live on Solana mainnet.

Oct 2 (Thu)

DoubleZero (2Z) will unlock 283.7 million tokens ($17M, 1.33% of supply), potentially impacting market liquidity.

Oct 3 (Fri)

US Nonfarm Payrolls data is scheduled for release, but may be delayed due to the government shutdown.

Oct 6 (Mon)

China will release September trade balance data, providing key insights into global trade flows.

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