The digital asset market saw a notable rebound last week after the end-of-September downturn. Investor interest began to resurface, fueled by a renewed demand for safe-haven assets amidst the uncertainty arising from the US government’s first shutdown in six years.
This increasing demand for secure assets could propel Bitcoin (BTC) to follow gold’s upward trend, potentially reaching a new all-time high of $150,000 before year-end, as stated by Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards. Bitcoin surpassed the $120,000 threshold on Thursday for the first time since August 14 and continued to trade at $120,122 as of Friday.
Additionally, the growing financial deficit of France’s central bank may serve as another catalyst for Bitcoin, possibly leading to “trillions of euros” in money printing by the European Central Bank (ECB), which could inject fresh liquidity into Bitcoin, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX.
Bitcoin $120,000 breakout will lead to “very quick move” to $150,000: Charles Edwards
Bitcoin could rise to a new all-time high of $150,000 before the end of 2025 as investors flock to safe-haven assets like gold, according to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards.
With Bitcoin’s recovery above the psychological $120,000 level, Edwards mentioned in an interview with Cointelegraph at Token2049 in Singapore that a “very quick” breakout to a $150,000 all-time high could happen soon. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit $150,000 in a short span, after breaking out of the $120,000 range. That may occur in the coming days,” he noted.
Bitcoin saw a weekly increase of over 6%, regaining the $118,500 mark for the first time since August 15, according to data.
Edwards’ outlook is relatively conservative compared to some analysts, who suggest that the current cycle could push Bitcoin above $200,000.
André Dragosch, head of European research at Bitwise Asset Management, informed Cointelegraph that the inclusion of cryptocurrencies in 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 drew a comparison between Hyperliquid and Solana’s early potential, referring to it as “the new kid on the block.”
“It’s exciting. It reminds me of Solana in its early days, and Solana has proven its significance among the major players,” Wood remarked during a recent episode of the “Master Investor” podcast.
ARK Invest currently holds three primary crypto assets in its public funds: Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL). Wood clarified that its exposure to Solana is through Breera Sports, which is linked to the Solana treasury and backed by Middle Eastern investors. She also mentioned advisory connections to the project through economist Art Laffer.
While Wood did not confirm any investment in Hyperliquid, she highlighted the protocol as one to monitor. Her comments come amidst increasing competition among perpetual futures DEXs following Aster’s token launch earlier this month, which saw 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, petitioned a US federal judge to acquit him of his lone conviction for unlicensed money transmission, as well as counts from a hung jury regarding money laundering and sanctions violations, arguing that prosecutors did not demonstrate he intended to aid bad actors in misusing the crypto mixer.
Legal documents submitted on September 30 to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and reviewed by Cointelegraph revealed that Storm’s defense asserted that prosecutors failed to show he intended to facilitate the misuse of Tornado Cash. This lack of evidence, according to the defense, nullifies the basis for his conviction based on negligent inaction.
“Storm and bad actors was a claim that he knew they were using Tornado Cash and failed to take adequate measures to stop them. This is a negligence theory,” the motion indicated.
The defense further contended that “lacking affirmative evidence that Mr. Storm acted with the intent to assist bad actors,” the government attempted to fulfill its willfulness requirement by claiming that the defendant did not prevent misuse. “It is a claim that contradicts the willfulness standard and is unsupported by law,” the motion stated.
A motion for acquittal requested the judge to dismiss charges and the verdict, citing the prosecution’s evidence as legally insufficient, even if taken as true.
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SEC’s tokenized stock push has unclear benefits for crypto: Dragonfly Exec
Tokenized equities are poised to enhance traditional markets but may not necessarily benefit the crypto industry as predicted, according to Rob Hadick, general partner at crypto venture firm Dragonfly.
“It’s clear it will have a significant impact on TradFi,” Hadick told Cointelegraph at the TOKEN 2049 conference in Singapore. “They desire 24/7 trading; it improves their economics.”
However, he expressed skepticism regarding major crypto players benefiting from the tokenization of real-world assets, such as Ethereum.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly working on a strategy to enable blockchain versions of stocks to trade on crypto exchanges, after several financial institutions lobbied for always-open markets.
Hadick mentioned that institutions “prefer not to be directly on these general-purpose chains,” using Robinhood and Stripe as examples of firms developing their own blockchains.
“They aim to maintain control of the economics, block space, privacy [and] the validator set, ensuring they govern their execution environment,” he stated.
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Centralized exchanges will be DeFi front ends in 5–10 years: 1inch co-founder
In the next decade, centralized crypto exchanges may cease to exist as decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregators take over, according to 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz.
During an interview with Cointelegraph at Token2049 in Singapore, Kunz predicted that exchanges will gradually morph into frontends for decentralized exchanges (DEXs). “I believe this will take about five to ten years,” he noted.
Kunz pointed out that while centralized exchanges operate in isolated markets, 1inch and its aggregator function as a global liquidity hub. His comments coincide with 1inch’s recent partnership with major US crypto exchange Coinbase, integrating its services to offer DEX trading for its users.
Kunz added that investments by centralized exchanges in on-chain systems reflect their acknowledgment that the technology they rely on “cannot persist indefinitely due to the emergence of decentralized exchanges and digital finance.”
“They do not want to miss the train and be left behind, which is why they are adopting our technology that will empower the entire financial industry,” he remarked.
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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 ended the week positively.
The privacy-focused Zcash (ZEC) token surged over 157% as the week’s top gainer in the top 100, followed by the DeXe (DEXE) token, which rose over 34% weekly.
Thank you for reading our recap of this week’s most significant DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education regarding this rapidly evolving space.
