Oklo stock tumbles as Financial Times scrutinizes valuation
Investing.com-- Bitcoin edged lower on Wednesday, remaining close to recent lows as cryptocurrency markets struggled to recover from a bruising flash crash earlier in October.
A risk-off move in broader financial markets also provided little support to crypto, with the sector having largely lagged its risk-driven peers this year. Persistent uncertainty over the U.S. economy and renewed trade tensions with China kept traders averse towards speculative assets, while an overnight slide in gold also drew limited buyers into crypto.
Bitcoin slipped 0.6% to $107,950.0 by 09:38 ET (13:38 GMT).
Bitcoin struggles to recover as ‘uptober’ cheer chills
The world’s largest crypto had slumped as low as $103,000 earlier this month, and has struggled to break above $110,000 since.
Broader crypto markets also struggled this month, as optimism over “uptober,” a trend of crypto markets outperforming in October, ran dry.
Bitcoin is trading down about 5% so far in October, a sharp contrast to last year’s 10% gain during the month. While enthusiasm over uptober had driven gains earlier in the month, they largely fizzled out amid growing risk aversion.
Crypto markets bore the brunt of risk aversion, especially as they lagged a broader recovery in financial markets, especially equities, seen in recent weeks.
Major Asian stock exchanges seen rejecting crypto treasury strategy- report
Adding to pressure on crypto markets, Bloomberg reported that three of the Asia Pacific’s biggest stock exchanges were scrutinizing plans by listed companies to pivot into digital asset strategies as their core business.
Most recently, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange operator, HKEX, challenged the plans of at least five firms seeking a pivot into digital asset treasuries, citing its rules against large liquid holdings, Bloomberg reported.
Similar plans also faced opposition in Australia and India, the report said.
The Bloomberg report comes amid increasing doubts over the long-term viability of the corporate treasury pivot popularized by Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR). Investors questioned how such companies could maintain their long-term returns on their digital asset holdings, especially in periods of extended crypto market weakness and volatility.
Analysts had earlier this year also flagged concerns over overcrowding in the corporate treasury sector.
FalconX buys Swiss ETP issuer 21Shares to expand in crypto ETFs
FalconX said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Swiss crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) issuer 21Shares, bringing one of the industry’s largest asset managers under its institutional brokerage umbrella.
The acquisition will merge FalconX’s trading and prime brokerage operations with 21Shares’ platform for exchange-traded crypto products across Europe and the U.S.
21Shares currently manages more than $11 billion in assets across 55 listed products, while FalconX has facilitated over $2 trillion in trading volume for more than 2,000 institutional clients.
The deal follows a major regulatory shift in the U.S., where the approval of new spot cryptocurrency ETFs — including those linked to Solana and Dogecoin — cleared the final hurdle just over a month ago.
"We’re witnessing a powerful convergence between digital assets and traditional financial markets, as crypto ETPs (exchange-traded products) open new channels for investor participation through regulated, familiar structures," said FalconX CEO Raghu Yarlagadda.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
Crypto price today: altcoins struggle as Bitcoin recovery falters
Broader crypto prices largely moved in a flat-to-low range, amid a dearth of direct trading cues and as investor sentiment towards the sector showed few signs of improvement.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 1.1% to $3,833.54, while BNB rose marginally to $1,079.
XRP shed 0.9%, while Cardano fell 1.7%. Solana lost 0.5%.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin slid 2.4%, while $TRUMP shed 1.1%.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)