The digital asset market demonstrated a notable rebound over the past week after the slump at the end of September. Investor interest began to rekindle, driven by an increased demand for safe-haven assets amidst the uncertainty surrounding the US government’s first shutdown in six years.
The rising interest in safe-haven assets may push Bitcoin (BTC) to mimic gold’s uptrend, potentially reaching a new all-time high of $150,000 before the year closes, as predicted by Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards. Bitcoin climbed above the $120,000 mark on Thursday for the first time since August 14, continuing to trade at $120,122 at the time of this writing on Friday.
Additionally, the escalating financial deficit of France’s central bank could act as a catalyst for Bitcoin, possibly resulting in “trillions of euros” in money printing by the European Central Bank (ECB), which may usher in fresh liquidity for Bitcoin, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX.
Bitcoin $120,000 breakout will lead to “very quick move” to $150,000: Charles Edwards
Bitcoin may potentially hit a new all-time high of $150,000 before the end of 2025 as investors flock to safe-haven assets alongside gold, according to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards.
Bitcoin’s recovery past the $120,000 psychological threshold could trigger a “very quick” breakout to the projected $150,000 all-time high, Edwards mentioned in an interview with Cointelegraph at Token2049 in Singapore. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we reached $150,000 swiftly, following a breakout from the $120,000 range. It could happen in just a few days.”
Bitcoin has surged over 6% in the past week, surpassing the $118,500 mark for the first time since August 15, data reveals.
Edwards’ forecast is more conservative compared to some analysts who suggest the current cycle could elevate Bitcoin beyond $200,000.
André Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise Asset Management, conveyed to Cointelegraph that incorporating crypto into US 401(k) retirement plans could unlock $122 billion in new capital. He stated that even a 1% allocation by retirement managers might be enough to propel Bitcoin above $200,000 by year-end.
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Cathie Wood: Hyperliquid “reminds me of Solana in the earlier days”
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood likened Hyperliquid to Solana’s early-stage potential, calling it “the new kid on the block.”
“It’s thrilling. It brings back memories of Solana in its earlier days, and Solana has proven itself to be among the major players,” Wood stated in a recent dialogue on the “Master Investor” podcast.
ARK Invest currently retains three primary crypto assets in its public funds: Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL). Wood explained that the company’s position in Solana is linked to Breera Sports, which is connected to the Solana treasury and backed by Middle Eastern investors. She also mentioned advisory relationships with the project through economist Art Laffer.
Wood did not confirm any involvement in Hyperliquid but indicated that the protocol is worth monitoring. Her comments arise as competition among perpetual futures DEXs intensifies, following Aster’s launch of a token earlier this month, which saw its trading volume and open interest surpass Hyperliquid.
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Roman Storm seeks acquittal of Tornado Cash money transmission charge
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, requested a US federal judge to acquit him of his single conviction for unlicensed money transmission and a hung jury’s counts for money laundering and sanctions violations, contending that prosecutors did not prove he intended to assist bad actors in misusing the crypto mixer.
As per legal documents filed on September 30 with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and reviewed by Cointelegraph, Storm’s defense claimed that the prosecution failed to establish his intent to aid bad actors in using Tornado Cash, thereby nullifying the basis for his conviction due to negligent inaction.
“Storm and bad actors was a claim that he knew they were using Tornado Cash yet failed to take adequate measures to prevent it. This is a negligence theory,” the motion stated.
The defense further asserted that “in the absence of affirmative evidence demonstrating that Mr. Storm acted with the intention to assist bad actors,” the government sought to satisfy its willfulness burden by alleging that the defendant did not prevent misuse. “This claim contradicts the willfulness standard and lacks legal support,” the motion claimed.
A motion for acquittal requested that the judge dismiss the charges and the verdict because the prosecution’s evidence, even if accepted as true, is legally inadequate.
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SEC’s tokenized stock push has unclear benefits for crypto: Dragonfly Exec
Tokenized equities are expected to greatly benefit traditional markets, but may not provide the anticipated advantages for the crypto sector, according to Rob Hadick, general partner at crypto venture firm Dragonfly.
“It’s clear it will have a significant impact on TradFi,” Hadick shared with Cointelegraph at the TOKEN 2049 conference in Singapore. “They seek 24/7 trading, which is more favorable for their economics.”
However, he found ambiguous benefits for major crypto entities involved in the real-world asset tokenization space, such as Ethereum.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly crafting a plan to permit blockchain versions of stocks to be traded on crypto exchanges after many financial institutions advocated for constantly open markets.
Hadick mentioned that institutions “don’t want to be directly on these general-purpose chains,” giving Robinhood and Stripe as examples of those developing their own blockchains.
“They are looking to avoid sharing economics. They don’t want to share block space with memecoins. They wish to control elements like privacy [and] the composition of the validator set, wanting authority over operations in their execution environment.”
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Centralized exchanges will be DeFi front ends in 5–10 years: 1inch co-founder
Centralized crypto exchanges could vanish within the next decade as decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregators take their place, as predicted by 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz.
In an interview with Cointelegraph at Token2049 in Singapore, Kunz forecasted that exchanges will gradually evolve into frontends for decentralized exchanges (DEXs). “I estimate this will take around five to ten years,” he expressed.
Kunz argued that while centralized exchanges function as isolated markets, 1inch and its aggregator operate as a global liquidity hub. His remarks followed 1inch’s announcement of a partnership with major US crypto exchange Coinbase, integrating its service to provide DEX trading for Coinbase users.
Kunz shared that investments in on-chain systems by centralized exchanges reflect their recognition that the technology they depend on “will not persist eternally due to the rise of decentralized exchanges and digitized finance.”
“They are keen to embrace the shift and not fall behind, which is why they are adopting our technology, as it is a means to empower the entire financial industry,” he affirmed.
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DeFi market overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicates that most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization finished the week in the green.
The privacy-centric Zcash (ZEC) token increased by over 157%, marking the week’s largest gain among the top 100, followed by the DeXe (DEXE) token, which rose over 34% on the weekly chart.
Thank you for reading our summary of this week’s most influential DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education regarding this dynamically evolving space.
