SnapShot 228: Market Turbulent, But Institutional Inflows Stay Strong
A tariff-related tweet set off a market tempest last weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese tech imports sparked one of the largest single-day liquidation events in crypto history, erasing nearly US$800 billion in total market capitalization within 24 hours.
Even though the U.S. struck a softer tone on Monday, the V-shaped recovery was short-lived, as China announced sanctions on U.S. units of a South Korean shipping company on Tuesday.
Bitcoin rebounded towards $115,000 before dropping back to $108,000 on Friday, while Ether dropped from $4,200 to below $4,000.
Despite the broad markdown in prices, BTC had exhibited increased relative value against ETH, which may suggest an enduring appetite for it as a crypto hedge against volatility.
The liquidation event underlined a stark difference between retail and institutional positioning. Amid the shakeout, spot ETFs continued seeing inflows of $2.7 billion and $488 million for BTC and ETH, respectively. Digital asset treasury companies were also reported to be adding to their balance sheets in this flash crash period.
Still, macro headwinds persist, as the U.S. government shutdown stretches on and federal workers face mass furloughs, halting key economic data releases.
Here are the other headlining crypto news and figures this week.
News Snaps
🪙 Ethereum Stablecoin Usage Hits Record Highs
Weekly unique stablecoin senders on Ethereum have surged past 1 million, doubling from last year’s average of around 400,000, as stablecoins continue to see adoption as practical dollar substitutes and settlement rails for the likes of perpetuals, real-world assets (RWA), and remittances.
🇦🇪 Crypto.com Gains Landmark Approval from UAE Central Bank
Foris DAX Middle East (trading as Crypto.com) has become the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to receive in-principle approval for a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE. Once finalized, the license will let users pay Dubai Government fees in UAE dirhams (the national currency), with their crypto automatically converted through Crypto.com’s VARA-licensed platform, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority overseeing digital assets in Dubai.
🏦 Citi to Roll Out Crypto Custody Services in 2026
Global banking giant Citi plans to launch a crypto custody service by 2026. The service will allow the bank to hold digital tokens for institutional clients, a plan two to three years in development. Citi joins other major U.S. banks expanding into digital assets, following regulatory shifts and the approval of BTC and ETH ETFs.
🏛️ Global Banks Team Up to Explore Joint Stablecoin
Ten major banks, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, are collaborating on a ‘1:1 reserve-backed digital money’ project pegged to G7 currencies. The initiative will test a public-blockchain-based stablecoin designed for compliant, cross-border transactions.
🪪 Bhutan Moves National Digital ID System to Ethereum
It is now the first nation to migrate its digital ID system onto Ethereum, enabling 800,000 citizens to verify credentials like age and citizenship using zero-knowledge proofs and decentralized identifiers (DIDs).
What’s Ahead
⏱️ Delayed CPI Release Rescheduled for October 24
The September Consumer Price Index (CPI) — originally set for October 15 but delayed by the U.S. government shutdown — is slated for release on October 24. The CPI is among the few federal statistics still being prioritized, as it underpins the 2026 Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA).
Number of the Week
Chart of the Week
The market capitalization of tokenized gold — digital tokens backed 1:1 by physical gold — has surpassed $3.3 billion as of October 2025, more than tripling since early 2024.
After a long consolidation period between $900 million and $1.2 billion from 2022 to 2023, momentum picked up sharply from mid-2024, coinciding with renewed global interest in RWA tokenization and a broader pivot toward inflation-hedged, yield-enabled on-chain assets.
The growth has been driven primarily by leading products such as Tether Gold (XAUT), PAX Gold (PAXG), Kinesis Gold (KAU), and Matrixdock Gold (XAUM).
As of October 12, 2025 | Source: CoinGecko, Crypto.com Research
Research & Insights
Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha (September 2025)
In September, equities and fixed income advanced, while crypto and real assets delivered mixed performances. Gold led gains both for the month and year-to-date.
The U.S. and Canada cut rates, while other major economies held steady. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s dot plot now signals two additional rate cuts this year, though policymakers remain divided. Meanwhile, U.S. CPI rose 2.9% year-on-year in August, its highest since January, underscoring persistent inflation even as retail sales stayed strong.
On the crypto front, BTC hit a new all-time high above $126,000, with U.S. spot BTC ETFs recording $3.5 billion in net inflows, reversing August’s outflows. Among altcoins, AVAX and IMX led gains, while ETH and ENA declined amid network and product updates.
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Dollar-Cost Averaging: A Simple Way to Stay Calm in Volatile Markets
Crypto markets can swing wildly — prices rise and fall within hours, making it hard to know when to buy. That’s why many investors turn to Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA), a simple strategy that helps smooth the ride.
How it works: Rather than investing a lump sum all at once, DCA means buying a fixed dollar amount of crypto at regular intervals, whether prices are up or down. Over time, this averages out the purchase cost and reduces the impact of short-term volatility.
Why people use it:
- Less Stress: Eliminates the need to time the market
- Lower Risk: Implements regular buying to avoid concentrating investment at a market peak
- Long-Term Focus: Encourages consistent investing rather than emotional trading
DCA doesn’t guarantee profits, but it helps many investors stay disciplined in volatile markets, turning unpredictability into opportunity.
Take a closer look in this University article.
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Security Tips
Top 7 Tips to Keep Crypto Safe in 2025
From AI-powered deepfakes to sophisticated phishing schemes, crypto security threats are evolving rapidly. Here are seven key habits to help safeguard funds this year:
1. Verify Before Clicking: Double-check URLs, apps, and smart contracts. No thanks to AI, modern phishing pages can look painfully real.
2. Use Cold Storage: Store long-term holdings in hardware wallets instead of hot wallets to minimize exposure to online threats.
3. Turn On 2-Factor Authentication (2FA): Implement extra login protection to reduce risk of unauthorized access.
4. Watch for Deepfakes: Confirm giveaways and announcements only through verified accounts.
5. Keep Software Updated: Maintain updated wallets, browsers, and extensions to close security gaps.
6. Protect Keys: Never share seed phrases or store them online.
7. Stay Skeptical: Treat urgent or guaranteed offers with caution, as they’re almost always a scam.
That's it for this week's SnapShot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.
Due Diligence and Do Your Own Research
^ Subject to the Creator’s Terms and Conditions.
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Although the term 'stablecoin' is commonly used, there is no guarantee that the asset will maintain a stable value in relation to the value of the reference asset when traded on secondary markets or that the reserve of assets, if there is one, will be adequate to satisfy all redemptions.
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