In today's crypto news, we see a clear trend of institutional adoption and integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial systems.
A recent Yale study reveals that AI has not yet caused mass unemployment, even in sectors with high AI exposure such as law and finance. This is a significant insight for legal and financial professionals exploring the Web3 space, suggesting that AI technologies may not disrupt these sectors as dramatically as initially feared.
In the market, Ethereum and Bitcoin have shown strong performance, with Ethereum hitting a two-week high and Bitcoin surging past the $120,000 mark. This resilience in the face of traditional market volatility underscores the potential of cryptocurrencies as a stable investment. However, caution is advised as short-term bullish sentiment is limited to October, and longer-term put options still carry a premium.
Meanwhile, Ripple's XRP is making strides in the DeFi sector, with the XRP staking vault surpassing $30 million. This development is part of XRP's strategic move into real-world asset tokenization and DeFi products, extending its practical roles beyond cross-border payments.
The stablecoin market has also achieved a significant milestone, reaching a capitalization of $300 billion, underscoring the increasing role of stablecoins as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem. This growth in the stablecoin market could contribute to price discovery and efficiency in crypto markets, potentially strengthening liquidity across the board.
Finally, partnerships between tech giants like Samsung and Coinbase are making crypto purchases more accessible to mainstream users, further driving the integration of digital assets into traditional financial systems.
In summary, the crypto market is showing resilience and growth, with clear signs of increasing institutional adoption and integration into mainstream financial systems. As always, caution and strategic thinking are advised in this rapidly evolving space.
The following article summaries have been sourced from Decrypt, CryptoSlate, NewsBTC, and Crypto Briefing. Each summary includes a direct link to the original source.
A recent study from Yale University's Budget Lab and the Brookings Institution has found that AI has not yet caused the mass unemployment that many tech executives have predicted. The study examined federal employment data and found that, despite the release of AI technologies like OpenAI's ChatGPT, the mix of occupations has only shifted slightly more than during the early 2000s internet boom. This suggests that the changes are typical of technological transitions rather than a sign of impending economic upheaval. The researchers also found that jobs with high AI exposure, such as law, finance, and customer service, showed no signs of displacement in the data.
Despite predictions from tech industry figures that AI could cause up to 50% of entry-level white-collar roles to disappear within five years, the data tells a different story. The researchers examined a variety of metrics, including changes in the occupational mix, industry-specific shifts, and AI exposure levels across different job categories. They found that workers in occupations most exposed to AI automation showed no signs of displacement. The study also found that the information sector, which includes newspapers, movies, and data processing, showed the largest occupational shifts, but these changes began before the release of ChatGPT, suggesting that they were due to industry-specific factors rather than AI disruption.
The researchers did acknowledge limitations in their data, noting that OpenAI's "exposure" metrics measure theoretical vulnerability rather than actual AI usage. They called for comprehensive usage data from all major AI companies to properly assess workplace impacts. Despite these limitations, the study suggests that, for now, the most significant change in the workplace due to AI is the increased discussion about it by executives, rather than any broad-scale impact on employment.
Ethereum recently reached a two-week high of $4,500, demonstrating a strong performance in the third quarter despite the volatility of traditional markets. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has seen a 1.6% increase over the last 24 hours and closed Q3 with a 74% return, according to CoinGlass data. This performance is notable, especially during a time considered one of the most bearish quarters. The broader crypto market is also experiencing a surge in buying pressure due to the U.S. government shutdown, with the top two cryptocurrencies seeing nearly 6% and 8% uptrends.
Options data indicates a short-term bullish shift for October, but longer-term sentiment remains cautious. On the prediction market Myriad, 72% of users now expect Ethereum to surge to $5,000, up from 66% on Thursday. However, Thahbib Rahman, a research analyst at options data analytics platform Block Scholes, warned that this optimism might be temporary as the positive sentiment is limited to October only, and longer-term put options still carry a premium. Analysts are also closely monitoring whether digital asset treasuries will resume accumulating Ethereum, a significant source of institutional demand that has recently paused. If these institutional buyers resume their purchases, it could provide a significant boost to Ethereum prices.
Bitcoin has surged past the $120,000 mark, defying predictions of a downturn, according to Tyler Warner's daily newsletter, Morning Minute. The rise, which represents a 10% increase on the week, is attributed to inflows into ETFs, which have exceeded $2.25 billion this week, and the news that a proposed 15% tax on unrealized asset gains in the U.S. will not be implemented for digital assets. This has potentially freed up significant funds for investment. Other major cryptocurrencies have also seen substantial gains, with Ethereum up 15% to $4,480, Binance Coin up 18% to a new all-time high of $1,100, and Solana up 20% to $230.
In addition to Bitcoin's rise, the newsletter highlights a number of other significant developments in the crypto world. Binance Coin hit a new all-time high of over $1,100, while the CME announced plans to launch 24/7 crypto futures and options trading in early 2026. Moonbirds teased the release of their BIRB token for the first time, and Art Blocks announced Quine by Larva Labs as their final Art Blocks Curated. In the world of NFTs, Art Blocks announced the final Art Blocks Curated release titled 'Quine' from Larva Labs, and a gold Plush Pepe sold for approximately $50,000.
Ripple's XRP is making strides in the DeFi sector, with the XRP staking vault surpassing $30 million. This development is part of XRP's strategic move into real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and DeFi products, aiming to extend its practical roles beyond cross-border payments. The introduction of mXRP, a liquid staking token built on XRP Ledger’s Ethereum-compatible sidechain, has seen strong demand. Investors staking XRP through the Midas platform receive mXRP, which can circulate across DeFi protocols and potentially deliver up to 8% annual yields. The initial 6.5 million XRP vault was filled in hours, leading to an increase to 10 million tokens. By October 2, the vault tied to mXRP had grown to over $30 million.
In addition to DeFi expansion, developers are equipping the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with tools tailored for regulated institutional activity. The Multi-Purpose Token (MPT) Standard is one such tool, designed to streamline the tokenization of real-world assets while embedding compliance safeguards directly at the protocol level. The MPT includes built-in mechanisms for asset freezing, fund clawbacks, and identity-based access controls, allowing issuers to comply with sanctions, mitigate fraud, and restrict transfers to verified holders. The MPT standard strategically positions the XRPL as a leading secure and compliant institutional blockchain for the future of tokenized finance.
The stablecoin market has achieved a significant milestone, reaching a capitalization of $300 billion. This development underscores the increasing role of stablecoins as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem. The growth of the stablecoin market is driven by investor demand and the diversification of stablecoin models, from fiat-backed giants to yield-bearing newcomers. Tether's USDT continues to lead the market with a value of $176 billion, followed by Circle's USDC at $74 billion. Ethena's USDe is the fastest-growing player, having captured $14.8 billion, indicating a growing interest in yield-generating alternatives.
Ethereum remains the primary platform for stablecoins, hosting nearly $177 billion in natively minted assets. Tron ranks second with $76.9 billion, while Solana and Arbitrum hold $13.7 billion and $9.6 billion, respectively. The rapid growth of stablecoins has led major institutions to revise their industry outlooks. A forecast by Coinbase suggests that stablecoins could reach a market capitalization of nearly $1.2 trillion by 2028, based on incremental adoption supported by favorable regulation and broader acceptance of tokenized assets.
The growth of stablecoins has implications for Bitcoin and Ethereum. A 2021 study found that the creation of new stablecoins contributes to price discovery and efficiency in crypto markets. For example, Tether's issuance tends to drive higher trading volumes without directly affecting Bitcoin or Ethereum returns. The same study found that issuances are linked to arbitrage opportunities, allowing traders to profit when market prices deviate from parity. A surge in stablecoins signals a wave of returning capital into digital assets, strengthening liquidity across the board. For Bitcoin, inflows create demand that indirectly sustains its role as the industry’s reserve asset. For Ethereum, the demand generated by tokenized assets forms a durable floor for its valuation, ensuring its long-term resilience despite price volatility.
Bitcoin's price has surged past the $120,000 mark, buoyed by a 5.5% climb from September 29. The rise is not an isolated event, as Bitcoin ETFs reported two consecutive days of substantial net creations, amounting to approximately $676 million on October 1 and $627 million on October 2. This followed a period of outflows around September 25-26. Concurrently, Bitcoin futures and options saw a swift recovery in early October, with futures open interest increasing from $77.22 billion on September 29 to $88.52 billion by October 3, and options open interest rising from $41.58 billion to $52.06 billion.
The late-September ETF shakeout is significant as it reset positioning and quickly transitioned to creations. The market absorbed coins and compelled authorized participants to source Bitcoin when there were consecutive days of over $600 million in net inflows. This tightening is reflected in the price faster than it appears in headlines, and it also alters intraday liquidity. If the inflow remains net positive through the next week, the spot side won't require extraordinary efforts from perpetuals to maintain the $120,000 level; it merely needs the creation process to continue.
The increase in futures open interest during this period is not merely shorts covering, as open interest doesn't add +$11.3 billion in four sessions without new positions. This, combined with the spike in volume, creates the classic "add risk into strength" scenario. Options tell a similar story, with a +$10.5 billion increase in open interest since September 29 pushing dealers into larger hedging bands. If $120,000-$122,000 accumulates open interest into the next week, expect stickier price action when the market approaches those levels until a new block of calls or puts clears the path. The third factor to watch is funding, which clearly flipped in premiums last week. As long as ETF creations continue to pull coins and the spot-futures basis widens in an orderly manner, the market can digest these funding levels without forcing a squeeze.
JPMorgan has set a bold target for Bitcoin at $165K, referencing gold's record-setting run and the growing 'debasement trade' as driving factors. Despite the U.S. government shutdown, Bitcoin has surged past $120K, demonstrating the resilience of the market. Historically, such dominance by Bitcoin has led to capital rotation into top-performing altcoins, which often yield larger gains. As momentum builds, altcoins like Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), Best Wallet Token ($BEST), and Aster ($ASTER) are gaining attention as potential breakout players during Q4.
JPMorgan's analysts have forecasted Bitcoin's rise to $165K by comparing it to gold on a volatility-adjusted basis. The theory is that if gold can reach record highs due to currency debasement fears, Bitcoin, being a harder and more portable alternative, should eventually catch up. This is referred to as the 'debasement trade,' where investors hedge against fiat erosion by investing in scarce assets like gold and Bitcoin. Despite the U.S. government shutdown, Bitcoin's momentum remains unscathed, further highlighting its resilience. With Bitcoin's structural support now clear, investors are turning their attention to new cryptocurrency projects like Bitcoin Hyper, Best Wallet Token, and Aster, which show significant upside potential in the next market upswing.
Bitcoin Hyper is the first genuine Bitcoin Layer 2, not a side chain or wrapped $BTC, but a full execution layer powered by Solana’s Virtual Machine. The project uses a trustless bridge to mint $BTC on Hyper, enabling sub-second transactions with near-zero gas fees. The Best Wallet Token is designed to take its ecosystem to the next level, with reduced transaction fees, early access to new meme coins on presale, staking rewards, and ecosystem governance. Aster, a multi-chain DEX, offers perpetuals, spot trading, and unique features like hidden orders. It has processed $89B in perpetual trades over the last 24 hours and $463.1B over the past week. These three projects are well-positioned to capture the next wave of momentum as Bitcoin continues its upward trajectory.
Citibank has released new 12-month price targets for Bitcoin and Ethereum, presenting a broad spectrum of potential outcomes that include significant losses to substantial gains. As per the bank's recent note, the base case for Bitcoin is projected at $181,000, with a bearish scenario dropping it to $82,000. However, a bullish run could potentially elevate Bitcoin to $231,000 within the next year. Rather than providing a single forecast, Citibank has outlined three distinct paths for Bitcoin. The bearish mark of $82,000 represents a 31% decrease from Bitcoin's current quoted price of $120,314. The base case of $181,000 indicates a 52% increase, while the top-end estimate of $231,000 is approximately 95% above the current level.
Citibank has identified the US dollar and gold as significant factors that could limit Bitcoin's growth, with a stronger US dollar and weaker gold prices posing challenges for crypto returns. However, the bank also emphasized the ongoing interest from large investors and increased institutional flows as potential drivers for Bitcoin's ascent. The bank's note also compared these targets with its previous year-end predictions of $132,000 for Bitcoin and $4,500 for Ethereum and extended the timeline to a 12-month horizon running until October 2026. Other analysts, including Standard Chartered and Fundstrat's Tom Lee, have also predicted that Bitcoin could reach between $200,000 and $250,000 by the end of this year.
For Ethereum, Citibank has set a bear case at $2,000, a base target at $5,400, and a bullish number at $7,300. These levels represent approximately a 65% increase from Ethereum's current price of $4,480 in the best-case scenario. However, the bank noted that Ethereum's ecosystem is still evolving, making it more challenging to predict how value will be distributed among projects and staking participants. Citibank's range serves as both a caution and a guide, warning that prices can drop significantly but also outlining potential growth.
XRP has recently broken past the $3 mark, showing signs of bullish momentum. However, the breakout is not yet confirmed as the cryptocurrency has not made a weekly close above this level. XRP continues to trade within a descending channel on the weekly timeframe, and some analysts are predicting a bearish scenario if XRP fails to maintain its current structure. Crypto analyst CoinsKid has expressed concerns about what might happen if XRP doesn't hold its position above critical support levels, suggesting a potential downside scenario.
CoinsKid has noted that XRP has been moving sideways since December of last year but has found stability along the bull market support band (BMS). He describes the current moment as the last bullish case for XRP, warning that a breakdown through the BMS could erase that bullish outlook entirely. He suggests that if XRP loses the BMS and the bullish support at $1.90, it could be in free fall. However, he remains cautiously bullish for now, with the caution stemming from the visible threat of losing these crucial levels.
The weekly candlestick chart shared by CoinsKid illustrates the situation clearly. XRP is inside a descending channel, and the last three weekly candlesticks have been red after XRP was rejected at the upper trendline of this channel in September. The bearish scenario is based on XRP extending this rejection and then falling to as low as the lower trendline of this descending channel, which is currently around $2.2. A break below this line would indicate that selling pressure has overtaken the support structure, likely setting up a deeper retracement. The next major support level is highlighted at $1.90. The $2.20 and $1.90 price levels represent the most important zones on the weekly chart. Holding above $2.20 could still allow XRP to maintain its bullish structure in the longer term.
NEAR Protocol's AI-driven trading ecosystem, NEAR Intents, processed a significant $483 million in trading volume in September 2025. This achievement underscores the growing adoption of its capabilities for cross-chain transactions. NEAR Intents, a crucial part of NEAR Protocol’s AI-powered trading and transaction infrastructure, simplifies blockchain interoperability by enabling AI agents to perform swaps and payments across multiple blockchains without the need for bridges. The surge in trading volume is a result of NEAR Protocol's continued efforts in AI agent development and chain abstraction technology.
In a bid to enhance AI-ready infrastructure for autonomous agents, NEAR Protocol has recently partnered with Aptos and Shelby. This collaboration allows for cross-chain swaps via NEAR Intents. The blockchain platform also launched the Shade Agent Sandbox, a platform that enables developers to build verifiable AI agents integrated with NEAR Intents for autonomous cross-chain actions. Furthermore, NEAR Protocol has expanded NEAR Intents to additional blockchains, including Cardano, thereby supporting privacy-first transactions designed for AI agents. The protocol is committed to ecosystem scaling through sharding technology and its intents-based architecture. Bitwise, a crypto index fund manager, has also offered a regulated NEAR staking ETP product that provides both institutional and retail access to NEAR through efficient staking exposure.
Samsung Wallet has partnered with Coinbase to facilitate crypto trading, staking, and payments for Galaxy users in the US. The integration of Coinbase One into Samsung Wallet will offer 75 million Galaxy users in the US access to fee-free trading, staking, and crypto payments. This collaboration will link Samsung Pay with Coinbase accounts in the US, allowing Galaxy users to manage their crypto holdings, trade, and stake without leaving the Samsung ecosystem.
This partnership is a significant step towards enhancing user convenience for buying digital assets, as it allows cryptocurrency access directly through the Samsung Wallet app. It also builds on similar mobile wallet integrations as crypto access expands across North American markets. The integration of Samsung Wallet with Coinbase is in line with the trend of mobile payment systems incorporating digital finance tools, thereby making crypto purchases more accessible to mainstream users.
Standard Chartered, a multinational banking institution, has projected that Bitcoin could reach a new all-time high as early as next week. This forecast is based on macroeconomic factors and the continued inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, which the bank identifies as the primary drivers of this anticipated price increase. Bitcoin's previous record was set in August 2025, when it hit around $124,128 during a rally that was largely driven by institutional adoption.
Throughout 2025, Standard Chartered has consistently issued optimistic forecasts for Bitcoin, emphasizing the cryptocurrency's potential in the face of increasing interest from institutional investors. The bank's bullish stance is also influenced by the evolving policies of the Trump administration in the US, which have been supportive of digital asset integration. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 has played a significant role in attracting participation from traditional finance entities, further contributing to Bitcoin's institutional acceptance and price momentum throughout the year.
