Bitcoin (BTC) is about to disappoint investors as its historically strong month of October is about to end in the red. Meanwhile, the BNB chain has seen record activity with token prices soaring in early October.
In the EU, the field is still shifting as countries decide whether to support “chat control” proposals, with nine of them outright opposing them. Fearing a lack of support, lawmakers in Brussels postponed a decision on the controversial regulation until December.
While the U.S. government shutdown has brought most federal business to a standstill, including decisions regarding crypto exchange projects, four states brought forward their crypto bills this month.
Meanwhile, stablecoin adoption continues to grow. The market capitalization of the stablecoin market exceeded $300 billion for the first time in October.
Here are the charts for October:
Bitcoin falls 10% in month of ‘Uptober’, first deficit in 7 years
For the past six years, Bitcoin traders have been looking forward to the October rally. This trend was so reliable that the crypto community named the month “Uptober.” However, this year, Bitcoin ended the year down more than 10% month-on-month, bucking the trend.
Several unique factors put downward pressure on Bitcoin prices this month, including a nearly $20 billion liquidation event triggered by US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts.
Some traders believe October’s disappointment means further gains in November. Some are less sure. “Bitcoin last closed in the red in October, but fell 36.57% in November,” said analyst Crypto Rover.
BNB Chain transactions surged 135% in October
According to Nansen Analytics, memecoin issuance surged in October, with transactions on the BNB chain increasing by 135%. Bubblemap stated on the BNB chain that “memecoin szn is real.”
According to the analytics platform, more than 100,000 new traders bought Memecoin on October 7, and 70% made a profit. About 40 of them earned more than $1 million, and 6,000 earned at least $10,000.
A pseudonymous crypto trader, Star Platinum, claimed that most of the meme coins had crashed by October 8th and 9th.
“Retailers bought the tops. Large holders sold them. On-chain data shows concentrated supply, little liquidity, and repeated bot trading.” [and] Exit to DEX/CEX during peak hours,” they said.
The meme coin craze has made BNB Chain’s Four.meme platform the leading format for issuing meme coins. On October 1st, Pump.fun accounted for over 90% of all new token issuance, but on October 8th, Four.meme reversed the balance and accounted for over 80% of all new token issuance.
Along with the meme coin craze, the price of the BNB (BNB) token also skyrocketed, topping $1,300 on October 13th. Since then, the token has declined, but is still up 6.6% month-on-month.
Nine countries oppose chat ban, extended until December
The number of EU member states that support “Chat Control” continues to change. As of the end of October, 12 countries supported it, while nine openly opposed it. Six people remain undecided.
Ahead of the vote scheduled for October 14, observers and privacy activists were closely monitoring which way Germany would vote. At the time, a majority of member states supported “chat control”, but the bloc did not have the 65% of the EU population needed for passage.
If the European Council wants to secure the support it needs to pass the bill, it is crucial that Germany is the most populous country in the EU. But public records collected by Fight Chat Control, a privacy advocacy group that tracks the law, show that Germany opposes the law at the time of publication.
The proposed anti-chat law has been in effect since 2022, but has failed to secure the support needed to pass. The proposal, introduced by Denmark’s European Council Presidency, would introduce mandatory checks on encrypted messages to catch people trafficking child sexual abuse material. The vote was postponed until December.
Four US states tackle virtual currency laws
While partisan gridlock has slowed progress in the US Senate on the Responsible Finance Innovation Act, US states continue to introduce their own legislation for the crypto industry. In October, four US states made progress on their virtual currency laws.
In Florida, the Legislature introduced a bill that would “authorize Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and certain public entities to invest a portion of state and local funds in digital assets, such as Bitcoin and exchange traded products.” It also introduced requirements for crypto kiosks and guidelines for stablecoin issuers operating within the state.
Wisconsin is updating its tax code. Under current law, cryptocurrency mining data centers remain exempt from income tax. The new bill would close that loophole. The state Senate is also working on legislation that would “ensure that individuals and businesses can accept digital assets for payments, use self-hosted or hardware wallets, operate blockchain nodes, develop blockchain software, transfer digital assets, and participate in staking.”
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New York City is working to introduce a new excise tax on electricity used for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining. Massachusetts updates fiduciary rights regarding cryptocurrencies.
California passed a law stating that abandoned Bitcoins cannot be immediately sold by the state and must be kept in their original form. Officials say this will ease the recovery and reduce the burden on exchanges.
Stablecoins surpass $300 billion
The market capitalization of stablecoins surpassed $300 billion in October as their adoption increases globally.
The new high water mark was announced amid bullish stablecoin news in October. AllUnity’s euro-backed stablecoin EURAU is itself a joint project between Deutsche Bank and asset manager DWS, and has been extended to several blockchains.
Neobank Revolut has introduced a 1:1 exchange between dollars and stablecoins for its customers. Indonesia’s central bank is reportedly planning to issue a “national stablecoin”, a digital currency backed by government bonds.
On October 29, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney announced, “We have added support for four stablecoins running on four proprietary blockchains, representing two currencies that can be accepted and converted into over 25 traditional fiat currencies.”
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