Bitcoin briefly fell below $80,000 on October 15 before rebounding toward $82,000 during Asian trading on October 16, according to CoinDesk. The move came amid broader market volatility as investors weighed U.S. inflation figures and the outlook for interest rates.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index climbed to 63 (Greed) on October 16, up from 53 (Neutral) the previous day, 59 a week earlier, and 51 a month earlier. That improved reading contrasted with weekly losses across all 13 cryptocurrencies shown in the Metal Pay market snapshot. The index reflects investor sentiment rather than a prediction of future prices.
CFTC Advances New Federal Crypto Trading Framework
On October 5, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a public comment process on a potential federal framework for certain leveraged or margined retail cryptocurrency transactions. The agency is exploring a regulated crypto asset market category that could allow participating exchanges to operate under federal supervision rather than relying primarily on state-level licensing.
Potential requirements include market-manipulation safeguards, proof-of-reserves obligations, and the involvement of registered futures commission merchants in customer trades. The initiative follows Congress's failure to advance broader cryptocurrency market-structure legislation, leaving regulators to work within existing authority. The announcement marks an early step in rulemaking, with final requirements yet to be determined.
USDC Gains EU Oversight as Visa Expands Stablecoin Payments
On October 14, the European Banking Authority classified Circle's USDC as the European Union's first significant e-money token under MiCA. From November 12, the EBA will directly supervise USDC's reserves, liquidity, capital requirements, and recovery and redemption planning, while French regulators retain responsibility for corporate governance.
A day later, Visa announced that Inyo Global had moved its Visa Direct stablecoin-prefunding capability into commercial production. Eligible businesses can use USDC to fund cross-border payouts through Inyo's existing platform, including outside conventional banking hours. The developments highlight stablecoins gaining both more formal regulatory oversight and greater practical use within mainstream financial infrastructure.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs began Monday with $65.4 million in net outflows, entirely driven by withdrawals from BlackRock's IBIT. Tuesday brought a strong reversal with $175.7 million in net inflows, led by Fidelity's FBTC ($103.1 million), IBIT ($65.9 million), and MSBT ($6.7 million).
Wednesday recorded the week's heaviest selling at $261.4 million in net outflows, driven by FBTC ($152.7 million) and IBIT ($110.9 million), partially offset by $2.2 million in inflows to BITB. Thursday saw a modest recovery with $5.1 million in net inflows, as IBIT attracted $16.8 million while BTCO and BTC recorded withdrawals of $4.1 million and $7.6 million, respectively.
Overall, Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $146.0 million in net outflows across Monday through Thursday, reflecting continued institutional selling pressure despite Tuesday's rebound. Friday's figures remain incomplete and are awaiting final issuer reporting, including IBIT.
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs opened Monday with $85.4 million in net outflows, led by BlackRock's ETHA ($75.1 million) and ETH ($10.3 million). Tuesday delivered a brief reversal with $24.8 million in net inflows, supported by $16.7 million into ETH and $8.1 million into Fidelity's FETH.
Wednesday brought the week's heaviest selling at $129.5 million in net outflows, driven primarily by ETHA ($109.8 million), alongside withdrawals from ETH ($18.8 million) and EZET ($0.9 million). Thursday extended the decline with another $60.3 million leaving the funds, including $44.4 million from ETHA and $18.3 million from ETHE, partially offset by $2.4 million in FETH inflows.
Overall, Ethereum ETFs recorded approximately $250.4 million in net outflows from Monday through Thursday, reflecting sustained institutional selling pressure and weaker demand for Ether exposure. Friday's figures remain incomplete and are awaiting final issuer reporting, including ETHA.
Bitcoin (BTC) was the strongest performer among the 13 tracked cryptocurrencies, declining just 1.7% over the seven-day period, followed closely by XPR Network (-1.9%) and Ethereum (-2.3%). Despite the section's name, no tracked asset posted a positive weekly return, reflecting a broad market downturn.
Dogecoin and Metal Blockchain each declined 4.9%, while Solana, Cardano, XRP, and Loan Protocol saw losses ranging from 5.2% to 5.7%. Litecoin and Stellar weakened further, with Hedera falling 8.3% and Metal DAO recording the largest decline at 12.2%. Bitcoin, XPR, and Ethereum demonstrated the greatest relative resilience amid widespread selling pressure.
