Crypto Markets Volatile After US Tariff Shock; ZEC, MYX, Morpho Lead Gains

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

President Trump's 100% tariff on Chinese imports triggered a sharp sell-off in global equities and crypto, driving over $20B in liquidations. The US government shutdown delays key economic data, increasing market uncertainty and volatility. Major global banks are collaborating on a G7 currency-backed stablecoin, potentially accelerating institutional stablecoin adoption.

Crypto Market

The crypto market saw broad volatility, with BTC down 1.63% at $109,937 and ETH down 1.82% at $3,719, pressured by risk-off flows after the US tariff shock. Zcash (ZEC) surged 25.6% to $271.88, MYX Finance rose 22% to $3.32, and MORPHO gained 19.1% to $1.59, driven by institutional inflows and DeFi sector momentum. Altcoins showed mixed performance, with privacy and DeFi tokens outperforming.

Today's Outlook

Today features a major Arbitrum token unlock, which may impact market sentiment and liquidity. Multiple airdrop claims, including ASTER S2 and Jupiter DAO, could drive short-term volatility in select tokens. No other large-scale unlocks or major protocol upgrades are scheduled for today.

Fear and Greed Index

86.00% Annual Percentile

35 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.66T

2.60%

Total Market Trading Volume

$278.98B

35.60%

Altcoin Season Index

0.00%

Quarterly Percentile

33 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.38B

0.98%

Futures

927.49B

17.29%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the delayed September CPI report on October 24, as staff are recalled during the government shutdown. The CPI data is crucial for Social Security COLA calculations and will directly impact inflation expectations, influencing BTC price volatility and DeFi yield strategies.

President Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports triggered a sharp sell-off in global equities and crypto markets, with over $20 billion in liquidations. This escalation in the trade war increases macro uncertainty, driving capital flows into stablecoins and affecting BTC and ETH price stability.

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled to multi-week lows as investors sought safe havens amid tariff threats and the ongoing government shutdown. Lower yields typically reduce opportunity cost for holding BTC and can boost DeFi lending activity as risk-off sentiment prevails.

The U.S. government shutdown has delayed key economic data releases, creating a data blackout for markets. This uncertainty complicates monetary policy outlooks and increases crypto market volatility, as traders lack macro signals to inform BTC and altcoin positioning.

Major global banks, including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, are collaborating on a reserve-backed stable digital currency tied to G7 currencies. This initiative could accelerate institutional adoption of stablecoins, enhancing DeFi liquidity and cross-border settlement efficiency.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

South Korea's National Tax Service has intensified its crackdown on crypto tax evasion, targeting assets in cold wallets and seizing over $108 million, increasing compliance pressure on investors.

India has enforced strict KYC and AML requirements for crypto exchanges under the PMLA, enhancing transparency and investor protection, which may boost institutional confidence in the domestic market.

The European Union is considering centralizing crypto regulation under ESMA, potentially reducing Malta's regulatory autonomy and aiming to harmonize compliance standards across member states.

Pakistan has established the Pakistan Crypto Council to develop a formal regulatory framework for digital assets, aiming to prevent misuse and align with global standards, which could attract more investment.

Zcash (ZEC): ZEC surged 25% in 24h to $272.38 with $1.5B volume, driven by renewed institutional inflows and privacy narrative, ranking #28 by market cap.

MYX Finance (MYX): MYX jumped 22% in 24h to $3.32, with $110.6M volume and $684M market cap, as cross-chain derivatives trading and TVL hit $27.5M.

MORPHO (MORPHO): MORPHO rose 19% in 24h to $1.59, with $139M volume, as DeFi lending vaults and isolated markets attract users, boosting market cap to $538M.

Smart Money Movements

A major Ethereum whale reduced holdings by 9,010 ETH ($34.05M) after a market drop, having transferred 24,020 ETH ($103M) to Binance since September, realizing $30.24M in profit.

FalconX transferred 14,643 ETH worth $53.6 million to an unknown wallet, drawing attention due to the large transaction size and potential market impact.

A crypto whale profited over $89 million in one day by shorting $751 million in Ethereum, then opened a new 10X leveraged short on Bitcoin valued at $92 million.

Cardano whales accumulated 0.14 billion ADA (~$89.6M) during a 20% price drop, signaling confidence in a potential rebound despite bearish technical indicators.

A newly created wallet withdrew 27,159 ETH ($104.19M) from Kraken, part of a group of wallets that collectively withdrew 78,824 ETH ($302.12M), likely linked to BitMine.

Events to Watch

Oct 11 (Sat)

Arbitrum major token unlock; Lern360 LERN IDO on Spores; Multiple airdrop claims including Aster S2, Jupiter DAO, Recall, Wallet Connect, Enso, Hyperlane, PHI.

Oct 13 (Mon)

Moonriver (MOVR) network upgrade at block 13,454,661; Portal to Bitcoin mainnet launch; Strata Protocol Mainnet and Season 1 go live; dYdX Prop #295 community vote; Digital Asset Summit London opens.

Oct 14 (Tue)

Federal Reserve Board closed meeting on financial markets; Wormhole unlocks 150.41M tokens at 11:30 UTC; Monad airdrop claims portal opens; EU votes on chat control bill; Coinbase MATIC to POL upgrade begins.

Oct 16 (Thu)

US Retail Sales and Core Retail Sales data for September released; US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for October; UK monthly GDP data; UK crypto ETPs trading starts on LSE; FacilPay FACIL IDO on Spores.

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