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U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with technology shares strengthening, Dell surging, and oil prices stabilizing. U.S. Treasury yields approached 5%, and global stock markets may face a 5%-8% correction. Trump said the strikes on Iran would end soon and that the Strait of Hormuz would be renamed the Trump Strait. The former British prime minister warned that failure to control debt would force emergency spending cuts. The Beige Book said the U.S. economy grew moderately, with AI and data centers serving as key supports. Tron’s USDT supply surpassed Ethereum’s for the first time. Broadcom’s Q3 results exceeded expectations, and its AI revenue guidance was raised. Robinhood Chain generated $3.75 million in daily fees, exceeding the combined total of Solana, ETH, and Base.

ARK Invest Digital Asset Research Director Valente reiterated his long-term view of Bitcoin’s five-year cycle in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, saying it is still in its early stages, and introduced Big Ideas along with Bitcoin’s role as digital gold and permissionless money. He discussed how stablecoins are changing the narrative, the rise of tokenized stocks and real-world assets and their new functions, the impact of interest rates, inflation, and AI on the outlook, the prospects for the next 12–18 months, the four-year cycle, and the 2030 target, as well as institutions remaining on the sidelines.

ME News, October 13 (UTC+8) — Goldman Sachs said that U.S. companies are expected to return a record $1.7 trillion to shareholders through stock buybacks in 2027, which could protect market valuations from dilution caused by equity issuance levels approaching historical highs. The investment bank expects the supply of publicly traded stocks to increase significantly next year. Although such an increase would typically put pressure on stock prices, Goldman Sachs added that corporate buybacks, together with strong demand from households and foreign investors, should be sufficient to absorb the additional shares. (Source: PANews)

Darkfost pointed out that Bitcoin’s Long-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (LTH SOPR) has risen above its annual average and remained there, with weekly and monthly averages of 1.25 and 1.16, respectively, significantly higher than the annual average, indicating that long-term holders are profitable again. The average return over the past year is approximately 10%. He believes this situation resembles the end of the previous bear market, with the return of profits viewed as a sign of market improvement that may help boost expectations for subsequent price action.

ME News reports that NEXTPredict paid a $12,000 premium to hedge its approximately $3 million conference investment through Kalshi. If more than 50% of flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 21 are canceled, it will receive approximately $3 million. Susquehanna is serving as the market maker, with settlement scheduled for October 22–23, before the summit. This is the event industry’s first use of a prediction market to hedge a conference. Kalshi self-certified on July 14 and customized markets for institutional clients; retail investors cannot participate. Flight disruptions caused by drone incidents or bomb threats do not trigger payouts.

In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Warren Davidson stated that the future of money is linked to the fate of Western civilization, noting that U.S. debt is approximately $40 trillion, the dollar’s purchasing power has declined since 2020, and interest rates have risen. He discussed issues including the threat the Clarity Act poses to self-custody, CBDCs, and stablecoins, calling stablecoins a hydra-like central bank digital currency and urging voters to defend freedom in the midterm elections.

Tom Lee said that the intergenerational transfer of wealth over the next few years could drive the next wave of demand in the crypto market, with an estimated $1.5–2 trillion to be inherited between 2026 and 2028. Younger heirs may have a higher risk appetite and increase their holdings of assets such as crypto and stocks. Wall Street’s acceleration of blockchain tokenization, AI applications, and long-term crypto holdings could also become growth drivers. Bitmine recently disclosed that it holds 6,028,946 ETH (approximately 4.9% of the total supply), leaving about 76,000 ETH to reach its 5% target, which could be achieved within weeks; approximately 5.07 million ETH has been staked, accounting for 84%, generating about $336 million in annualized staking rewards.

Three acquisitions show that stablecoin payment infrastructure is becoming a key focus for traditional payment giants and crypto companies: Stripe acquired Bridge for approximately $1 billion, Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, and Circle acquired Tazapay in a $400 million all-stock deal. Driving factors include the expanding adoption of stablecoins, greater regulatory clarity, and demand for real-time cross-border payments. Stablecoin transaction volume reached $10.9 trillion in 2025, approaching Visa’s level; more acquisitions of localized infrastructure may follow.

The interview stated that central banks are buying gold at a record pace but do not hold Bitcoin because Bitcoin’s price and supply, among other factors, are difficult to control. Middelkoop said institutions are entering the market through Bitcoin ETFs, and that the fund he manages also allocates to Bitcoin. Currency depreciation is driving Bitcoin, gold, and commodities into a bull market, involving BRICS, de-dollarization, and declining demand for U.S. Treasuries. He proposed a 25% investment portfolio allocation across real estate, gold, stocks, and Bitcoin, along with a $1 million Bitcoin target by 2030. The interview also covered oil prices, the situation in Iran, and the Amsterdam conference.

NVIDIA and Cisco jointly launched USFP pluggable optical modules, the first to deliver 400Gb/s per channel and up to 12.8Tb/s per module. The modules increase bandwidth density by approximately 4× and energy efficiency by approximately 1.3×, helping scale AI factory networks without adding network layers, while building a multivendor hardware ecosystem with TE Connectivity, Amphenol, and others.

Zhibao Technology and Bedrock signed a non-binding strategic framework agreement and formed a joint working group to explore tokenizing U.S. SEC-registered Class A common shares while retaining rights such as voting and dividends, as well as integrating tokenized stocks with DeFi applications. They will also assess allocating a portion of the 2,380 BTC to Bedrock’s uniBTC liquid restaking infrastructure. The framework is non-binding, requires due diligence and compliance review, and may be restructured to avoid an offshore issuance or listing by a domestic enterprise. A formal cooperation agreement is expected to be signed within 12 months.

Nasdaq-listed TROOPS Inc. (TROO) announced that it has signed a conditional share purchase agreement with EFFORCE Group, planning to expand its digital asset infrastructure business through the transaction. EFFORCE was founded by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who will retain his interest as a shareholder after completion. The parties stated that they will combine their strengths in technology, compliance, business development, and market channels to build a multi-sector digital asset infrastructure platform.

ME News, October 12 (UTC+8) — According to CoinMarketCap market data, SOL is currently priced at $108.53, down 3.1% over the past 24 hours. (Source: CoinMarketCap)

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Hougan expects Bitcoin’s market capitalization to reach $30 trillion over the next decade, with a trajectory potentially resembling gold’s long-term expansion after the launch of gold ETFs. For comparison: when gold ETFs debuted in 2004, the market was worth approximately $2.5 trillion; when spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in 2024, it was approximately $2 trillion. Long-term potential remains, with the real risk being whether investors can weather multiple bull and bear cycles and continue holding.

Killa pointed out that Bitcoin bulls need to enter in the current area, or BTC could fall below $80,000 and continue correcting. BTC has broken above the range and is retesting the structure. If it breaks below again and fails to reclaim it, the market structure will be damaged. Approximately $2 billion was liquidated previously; another sharp decline would indicate market weakness rather than a healthy correction. $80,000 is a key area, and if buying support is insufficient, the price could fall back to the $76,000–$78,000 range.

ME News reported that two Ledger hardware wallets from MediaMarkt in Europe were allegedly found to contain suspected spyware and hardware modifications, including additional cables and an LTE module, prompting calls for a recall. The second device was not a returned item, and its inventory came from Aqipa GmbH. Johannes will send the first device for analysis, plans to send the second to Ledger, and will publish an unboxing video. Buyers who purchased through unofficial channels are advised to stay alert; the truth still awaits verification by Ledger.

ME News, October 12 (UTC+8) — Miden, a privacy-focused zero-knowledge-proof blockchain spun off from Polygon Labs, tweeted that its testnet phase has ended. According to its published roadmap, v0.16 is the final testnet version, after which the partner mainnet and public mainnet will be launched in sequence. Miden said there will be further developments in a few weeks, but the specific timing has not yet been announced. (Source: Foresight News)

The U.S. Treasury market is awaiting the latest CPI data and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Warsh to assess the pace of future rate hikes. The slowdown in September employment growth has led the market to expect the October FOMC to keep rates unchanged, limiting a sell-off in the bond market, followed by another 25-basis-point hike in December and two more hikes by the end of 2027. If September CPI comes in above expectations, it could prompt faster rate hikes and trigger another sell-off in the bond market. The Federal Reserve will enter a two-day blackout period starting Saturday, and the rate-setting meeting will conclude on October 28.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Breeden said at the IMF annual meeting in Bangkok that, given the parallel advancement of digital payment innovation, the UK currently has no urgent plans to launch a CBDC for the public. Whether to proceed with a retail CBDC (Britcoin) will depend on whether equivalent tokenization and financial innovation can be achieved through other means.

ME News, October 12 (UTC+8) — According to CoinMarketCap market data, XRP is currently priced at $1.3822, down 3.0% over the past 24 hours. (Source: CoinMarketCap)