Bitcoin surged as high as $114,000 as broader markets rallied after a Federal Reserve governor proposed a new type of “payment account” with the central bank.
Crypto markets are seeing a surge today, October 21, with most of the top 10 assets up between 2-4% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) rose from near $108,560 to near $114,000 over the past two hours, a gain of 5.5%.
Markets rebounded sharply after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller spoke favorably of crypto and the “challenge industry” in his keynote address to the Fed’s first Payments Innovation Conference, which takes place today. The conference was created to focus on the integration of blockchain and crypto into traditional finance, Waller noted.
“I wanted to send the message that this is a new era for the Federal Reserve in payments: the challenge industry is not viewed with suspicion or disdain,” the Fed governor said.
Waller also revealed that he had proposed a new type of account with the central bank, which he called a “payment account.” The new type of account, which Waller asked the Fed to consider, would make it easier for businesses to access the central bank’s payment channels, without having to have a full master account.
Meanwhile, as BTC rallied, other large caps followed, with Ethereum (ETH) up 3% on the day, hitting $4,101. Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), TRON (TRX), BNB and XRP are also up between 1% and 4%, reversing the market slowdown from earlier in the day.
Sentiment remains cautious amid volatility
Analysts at Glassnode suggested in an article yesterday that sentiment around Bitcoin investors “remains cautious and positioning is still defensive” amid continued market volatility. “Capital inflows remain strong, but fundamentals are fading and profitability is under pressure. This divergence reflects a market caught between conviction and caution after last week’s sharp rise,” the analysts added in a follow-up article.
In a commentary on The Defiant, Emir Ibrahim, an analyst at digital asset trading firm Zerocap, suggested that despite the volatility, “the structure remains intact and BTC is within 15% of all-time highs.” Ibrahim added: “Bulls have effectively defended the US$100,000 zone, and with improved positioning, there is room for another upward push once macro tailwinds re-emerge. »
Top winners and losers
Among the top 100 crypto assets by market capitalization, ChainOpera AI (COAI) and Zcash (ZEC) saw the largest daily gains. COAI has surged over 66%, while ZEC is up 15%, trading around $295.
Meanwhile, today’s biggest losers among the top 100 are Pax Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT), both of which are down 5.3% as gold prices hit $4,151 an ounce, down more than 5% on the day, gold’s biggest intraday decline since 2021.
ETFs, liquidations and macro conditions
Over the past 24 hours, more than $528 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, including $288 million in short positions, according to Coinglass data. BTC led the wipe with over $224 million liquidated, followed by ETH with $138 million and other altcoins with over $35 million liquidated.
On the crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) side, outflows continue. On Monday, October 20, Ethereum spot ETFs saw net outflows of $145.6 million, bringing the total amount controlled by Wall Street firms to $26.8 billion, according to SoSoValue. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $40 million in net outflows over the same period, with total net assets now below the $150 billion mark.
On the macroeconomic front, markets expect the U.S. central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to the range of 3.75 to 4 percent, at its policy meeting on Oct. 28-29, Reuters reported.
Treasury yields fell on Tuesday, as investors monitored the ongoing government shutdown and became more optimistic about a potential resolution, CNBC reported.
The release of official employment data remains on hold because of the shutdown, but White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Monday that the standoff “will likely end this week,” warning that if it continues, the Trump administration could resort to “stronger measures” to force Democrats to cooperate, Hassett said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
