Bitcoin has surpassed $81,000, while NEAR token surged 23% due to increased ZEC trading, reflecting positive market sentiment.
Bitcoin has surpassed the $81,000 mark, buoyed by favorable market conditions and regulatory developments.
Bitcoin's price has climbed slightly above $81,000 during early Asian trading hours, marking a modest increase of less than 1% over the previous day. This uptick follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent approval for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks, which led to a short squeeze in the market.
Meanwhile, the NEAR token has experienced a remarkable surge, jumping approximately 23% to exceed $4. This increase is linked to NEAR Intents, a cross-chain swap service that enables users to trade tokens across various blockchains without needing to transfer funds first. The service's integration with popular wallets like ZODL and Vizor has driven a sixfold increase in ZEC trading volume on the platform over the past week, positioning NEAR as a key player in the trading of Zcash (ZEC).
In addition to Bitcoin and NEAR's performance, ZEC rose by 3% to just above $1,500, while BNB saw a 2% increase, nearing $777. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether and HYPE gained approximately 2%, with XRP, DOGE, SOL, and TRX showing smaller gains.
The positive sentiment in the markets was further supported by Asian equities, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index rising nearly 1%, largely driven by gains in technology stocks from South Korea and Taiwan. This upward movement coincided with optimistic remarks from U.S. officials about successful trade discussions with China ahead of an upcoming summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Futures for the S&P 500 showed slight gains of less than 1%, while Nasdaq 100 contracts demonstrated even stronger performance. Brent crude oil prices have dropped 2% to just above $101 per barrel, marking a fourth consecutive decline, which has eased inflation concerns and positively impacted Treasury futures.
Jeff Mei, the chief operating officer at BTSE, attributed Bitcoin's recent rise to the SEC's approval for tokenized stock trading and the resulting short squeeze. He anticipates that the upcoming week will remain relatively stable, with potential volatility as the Federal Reserve meeting approaches later in October, which will include several speeches and an inflation report.
