Crypto markets continued their retracement amid heightened macro tension and hawkish undertones from Fed Chair Powell, combined with the high-stakes Trump–Xi diplomatic meeting. The uncertainty triggered over $818M in total liquidations, pushing sentiment firmly into fear territory (34/100).
Bitcoin slid to $110,322 (-2.4%), while Ethereum lost 2.7%, failing to hold the $4K zone. The broader market cap dipped below $4T, with BTC dominance softening to 55.5%, signaling modest altcoin rotation despite the risk-off tone.
🔻 Macro Mood
Traders are clearly de-risking, and momentum algos are in control. While there’s no clear capitulation yet, liquidity thins quickly around key supports, increasing the odds of a volatility spike before reversal.
⚙️ Altcoin Pulse
The Altcoin Index (32/100) hit its highest level in two weeks, hinting at some resilience from small-cap projects even as large caps remain under pressure.
However, XPL tanked -14%, and ENA along with ASTER lost about 8% — both suffering from thinning volumes and reduced perp open interest.
🧩 Small Cap Outperformers
While majors bled, small caps stole the spotlight:
RZTO surged +229%, leading on speculative hype and early community traction.
Domani Protocol (DEXTF) climbed +116%, showing renewed DeFi attention.
Axelrod (Virtuals) +82% and Data Ownership Protocol +61% rode the AI x Web3 narrative wave.
Aurora added +38%, supported by rising developer activity.
💰 Institutional & VC Flow
Capital continues to flow into infrastructure and DeFi:
Nemesis closed a pre-seed round led by LYVC, hinting at early institutional curiosity.
Hercle raised $10M in a growth round from F-Prime Capital, followed by $50M in debt financing from Fulgur Ventures, signaling a strong bet on DeFi credit rails.
🏦 Key Headlines
Visa expands stablecoin payments across four blockchains, deepening mainstream crypto utility.
Mastercard to acquire Zero Hash for nearly $2B, a move that could redefine on-ramp liquidity.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI) announces an 8.4M token airdrop to early USD1 users, driving on-chain buzz.
🧠 Outlook
Short-term sentiment remains fragile, but the underlying fundamentals — especially infrastructure investments and stablecoin integrations — hint that this drawdown is corrective, not structural. Expect a volatility spike near BTC $108K, followed by an accumulation phase into mid-November.
