What Happened in Crypto This Week: From ATHs to a Historic Collapse

October 5–12 was a wild week in crypto, up there with the most tumultuous periods in the history of digital finance. From having crypto fresh out of a new all-time high in market capitalization to a historic market crash, investors have seen it all in this short 7-day span. 

Corporate and Regulatory Moves of The Week 

The week began with a massive announcement that staking benefits are being introduced in Grayscale’s Ethereum and Solana ETFs. Adding staking yields makes these financial products more attractive for investors looking to hold, adding yet another reason why traditional finance should gain altcoin exposure.

Meanwhile, Quantica Tech is launching Quantic Bitcoin (BTCQ), a cryptocurrency designed to bridge blockchain technology with quantum computing. One of the largest financial groups in the world, the Citi Group, is joining the corporate stablecoin trend with a massive investment in the stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK.

The largest corporate bitcoin treasury in the world, among public companies, MicroStrategy reached closer to the top-100 publicly traded firms by market capitalization, boosted by a substantial increase in value BTC had seen in the first days of the week.

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Crypto Was Booming at The Start of The Week

Bulls were going full steam ahead at the start of the week. The largest crypto in the world, Bitcoin, had hit $126k on Monday, boosted by market optimism and upside momentum. At that point, it looked like “Uptober” was in full effect. 

Altcoins also got the spotlight. Binance Coin (BNB) hit a new ATH and even flipped XRP in the rankings for largest market capitalizations. Meanwhile, crypto ETFs were also registering record-breaking inflows.

ZCash (ZEC) continued to bring in profits. The currency’s strong short squeeze that’s been going on for a while now made it one of the few digital assets to survive the market collapse seen later in the week. 

The Sudden Collapse

Upside momentum started to fade by Wednesday, when recent alarming remarks about inflation decreased the odds of a future interest rate cut in December. Still, Bitcoin was holding on to the $120k margin, which led us to believe the dip was only a healthy market correction. 

By Friday, the resurgence of trade tensions between the U.S. and China reignited risk-on sentiment across all financial markets. Crypto got hit the hardest. Bitcoin hit as low as $104,000 while altcoins bled even more. 

Assets like Dogecoin went down by over 26% in less than 24 hours, marking the highest amount of liquidations in a single day in the history of cryptocurrencies. Our latest price analysis on BTC shows that selling momentum is still lingering, making next week’s developments even more important for a potential recovery. 

Next week, we’ll get to see key macroeconomic developments that could dictate short-term volatility. Major inflation prints like the CPI and PPI are coming, as well as a public statement by the Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday.

Geopolitical developments between the U.S. and China will likely dictate what happens next. So stay tuned for further updates.