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- Solana ETF momentum stuns market
Solana ETF momentum stuns market
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Solana ETF inflows outpace Bitcoin and Ethereum despite price weakness
Key points:
Solana continues to witness strong institutional demand, with spot SOL ETFs recording sustained inflows despite broader market volatility.
Price action remains fragile as SOL trades below key moving averages and struggles against persistent selling pressure and weakening on-chain activity.
News - Solana is showing a rare blend of strength and strain as its ecosystem experiences steady institutional inflows while its market performance remains under pressure.
Spot SOL ETFs have continued to attract capital, with Bitwise and Grayscale’s products amassing a combined $368.5 million since their late October debut. These flows outpaced bitcoin and ether ETFs, which saw more than $700 million in outflows over the same period, highlighting a sharp divergence in institutional positioning.
However, this momentum has not translated into immediate price relief. SOL remains under its 50-period simple moving average and continues to mirror a short-term bearish trend defined by lower highs, lower lows, and movement along a descending line.
Traders expect further downside as long as the $164.90 resistance remains unbroken, with $145.85 highlighted as a pivotal support.
On-chain activity paints a mixed picture - On-chain participation has weakened noticeably, with active addresses falling to a yearly low of 3.3 million from January’s 9 million peak.
The earlier meme token boom that fueled Solana’s end-2024 surge has faded, yet niche segments such as Pump.fun remain active with daily revenues above $1 million. Solana’s DeFi total value locked is approaching $10 billion, supported by platforms like Jupiter, Kamino, and Jito, and developer activity continues to hold up.
Institutional catalysts clash with market headwinds - ETF inflows and real-world adoption, including SoFi Bank’s support for direct SOL purchases, signal growing mainstream legitimacy. Still, selling pressure persists due to continued volatility and recent FTX and Alameda wallet movements that reintroduced uncertainty.
Analysts note the $80 billion market cap as a critical threshold. A rebound from this level could revive momentum toward the $180 to $200 range, while a break lower may open a path toward the $100 zone.
US government reopens as crypto rulemaking resumes after historic shutdown
Key points:
The record 43-day US government shutdown has officially ended after President Trump signed a short-term funding bill, allowing federal agencies to restart operations.
Crypto regulatory progress resumes as staff return to the SEC, CFTC, IRS, and OCC, clearing backlogs on ETF applications and ongoing legislative work.
News - The United States government has reopened after President Donald Trump signed a funding bill passed by both chambers of Congress, ending the record 43-day shutdown that stalled federal operations and disrupted services nationwide.
The House approved the bill on Wednesday following a 60 to 40 vote in the Senate, with Trump signing shortly afterward to restore funding through January 30.
The shutdown, the longest in US history, suspended federal contracts, halted food aid, and caused thousands of flight cancellations due to shortages of air traffic controllers. It also intensified political tensions in Congress, with Democrats and Republicans clashing over healthcare funding and cost of living support.
Crypto agencies restart after weeks of delays - The reopening of the government brings staff back to key crypto regulatory bodies.
The SEC can now resume reviewing several pending spot crypto ETF applications that sat idle during the shutdown. The CFTC, whose operations were also slowed, will move ahead with its November 19 confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee Mike Selig.
Other agencies, including the IRS and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, have also resumed rulemaking and public feedback analysis. This includes work tied to the GENIUS Act and market structure legislation that would expand the CFTC’s oversight of crypto spot markets.
Markets react cautiously - Despite the reopening, crypto markets have remained muted, with Bitcoin showing little price reaction.
Previous shutdown resolutions have triggered rallies, but so far traders appear cautious as the Federal Reserve approaches its December meeting with incomplete jobs and inflation data due to the weeks-long reporting blackout.
Hyperliquid hit with $4.9M loss after trader’s high-stakes POPCAT gamble implodes
Key points:
A Hyperliquid trader burned through $3 million to build a fake POPCAT buy wall, triggering cascading liquidations that left the platform’s liquidity vault with a $4.9 million loss.
The incident briefly prompted Hyperliquid to pause Arbitrum-based withdrawals as the team activated an emergency lock function.
News - Hyperliquid faced a major disruption after an anonymous trader executed a high-risk POPCAT strategy that backfired and exposed vulnerabilities in leveraged DeFi markets.
The trader withdrew $3 million in USDC from the OKX exchange, split it across 19 wallets, and opened between $20 million and $30 million in leveraged longs tied to POPCAT. This created a sudden surge in activity on the decentralized derivatives platform.
The trader then placed a $20 million buy wall near the $0.21 level, generating an illusion of strong demand. As soon as other traders entered positions, the wall was removed. POPCAT’s price collapsed within minutes, triggering a wave of liquidations.
The attacker’s entire $3 million stake was wiped out, while Hyperliquid’s community-owned Hyperliquidity Provider vault absorbed the remaining losses, totaling about $4.9 million.
Market chaos and community reaction - Analysts and users described the episode as “peak degen warfare,” noting that the attacker appeared focused on stress testing the platform rather than seeking profit. Some saw it as a deliberate attempt to expose liquidity weaknesses in high-leverage meme markets, while others speculated whether the capital had been hedged elsewhere.
Several observers also compared the move to previous manipulative events involving thin liquidity and manufactured demand.
Temporary withdrawal pause - In the aftermath, Hyperliquid briefly paused Arbitrum-based deposits and withdrawals using its EmergencyLock function. Processing resumed within hours, and the team did not issue any official statement linking the pause to the POPCAT incident.
Asia splits on Bitcoin strategy as Taiwan eyes reserves and Japan targets crypto treasuries
Key points:
Taiwan’s premier has pledged a year end 2025 report auditing government Bitcoin holdings and assessing whether BTC should join national reserves as lawmakers warn about overreliance on the US dollar.
In Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange operator is weighing tighter rules on digital asset treasury firms after steep stock losses at Bitcoin-heavy companies, putting corporate crypto hoarding under pressure.
News - Asia’s crypto landscape is moving in two very different directions this week. In Taiwan, lawmakers have intensified a national debate over whether Bitcoin should join the country’s strategic reserves.
During a Legislative Yuan inquiry, Premier Cho Jung tai committed to publishing a full audit of Taiwan’s confiscated Bitcoin and an updated reserve assessment by the end of 2025. Lawmakers argue that Taiwan’s heavy reliance on the US dollar and exposure to China’s economic cycle pose concentration risks that Bitcoin could help hedge.
Meanwhile in Japan, regulators are tightening scrutiny of listed firms that hold large digital token reserves.
Japan Exchange Group, operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is weighing stricter backdoor listing rules, mandatory audits, and new governance requirements for digital asset treasury companies after sharp stock declines among Bitcoin-heavy firms such as Metaplanet and Convano.
JPX has already urged several companies to pause aggressive crypto accumulation since September as it evaluates investor protection concerns.
Taiwan tests the Bitcoin reserve narrative - Cho’s report will outline the pros and cons of adding Bitcoin to national reserves, reflecting a broader global shift after the United States launched its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve plan this year.
Analysts and lawmakers cite forecasts that gold and Bitcoin could coexist on central bank balance sheets by 2030, framing digital assets as part of the next phase of monetary infrastructure.
Japan clamps down on digital asset treasury stocks - Japan’s review of digital asset treasury companies follows months of volatility that wiped out significant value for retail investors.
Metaplanet, one of Japan’s most prominent Bitcoin holding firms with more than 30,000 BTC, has seen its shares fall sharply from earlier highs. Convano and other Japanese DAT stocks have also logged steep losses.
JPX’s cautious stance mirrors similar regulatory tightening in Hong Kong, Australia, and India as exchanges assess whether token heavy treasury strategies are compatible with public market stability.
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More stories from the crypto ecosystem
Interesting facts
Wall Street’s new on-chain obsession - By late 2024, tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) had surged past $13.5 billion, climbing over 60% as institutions shifted treasuries, credit, and even real estate onto blockchains. The once-niche experiment had already become one of crypto’s fastest-rising sectors.
Crypto keeps growing… but power is concentrating - A June 2025 research paper showed that even as crypto networks become more sophisticated, critical parts such as developer activity and validator infrastructure are clustering around fewer players, raising fresh questions about decentralisation’s future.
Africa’s quiet stablecoin revolution - As of Q3 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa led the world in stablecoin usage, with 9.3% of the region turning to dollar-pegged tokens as everyday money. Nigeria topped the chart at 11.9%, where inflation and currency swings pushed citizens toward digital dollars.
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Top 3 coins of the day
Quant (QNT)
Key points:
QNT was last seen near $91, climbing 11.39% in the past 24 hours as buyers extended this week’s recovery.
The Supertrend stayed in bullish territory, while the MACD histogram expanded upward, signaling firm positive momentum.
What you should know:
Quant posted a strong rebound after several weeks of drift, with the latest candle closing well above its recent consolidation range. The Supertrend remained green, indicating that bullish control was still intact at the time of writing. Momentum also strengthened on the MACD, where the histogram printed taller positive bars and the MACD line held above the signal line. This suggested that the recent push higher carried genuine conviction rather than a brief relief bounce. Volume also increased across the last few sessions, giving extra support to the move. Traders are keeping an eye on the $95–$100 region as the next resistance, while the lower Supertrend band acts as support if sentiment cools. Non-technical drivers such as rising attention on tokenized finance also played a role in lifting interest around QNT today.
Stellar (XLM)
Key points:
XLM changed hands near $0.29, adding 7.49% over the past day as buyers pushed the price off its weekly base.
The Stochastic RSI climbed deep into the upper range, while the 9-day SMA provided short-term support beneath the latest candle.
What you should know:
Stellar registered a solid intraday advance, with the price lifting further above the 9-day SMA after several days of sideways trading. The short-term moving average acted as a helpful guide for the recovery, and improving volume supported the latest uptick. The Stochastic RSI also moved into an overbought region, suggesting strong upside momentum had already built up across the last few sessions. While this signaled buyer strength, it also hinted at the possibility of near-term cooling if momentum slowed. Buyers will be watching whether XLM can secure a daily close above $0.30, which stands as the first hurdle for any extended move higher. The 9-day SMA remains the nearby support to track, especially if momentum starts to ease. Beyond the chart, interest in XLM also picked up after Visa’s stablecoin pilot highlighted Stellar’s role in cross-border settlement, giving traders an additional reason to revisit the asset during today’s bounce.
XRP (XRP)
Key points:
XRP traded near $2.51, marking a solid intraday advance as the candle closed above the 20 MA while still sitting below the 50 MA.
The Awesome Oscillator kept printing green bars for the fifth session, though the most recent bars were slightly shorter, hinting at easing momentum.
What you should know:
XRP saw a steady upswing over the past day as the price bounced away from early week lows and pushed back above the 20 MA, showing renewed short-term strength. The coin still hovered beneath the 50 MA, which remains a level traders will be monitoring for any breakout attempts. The Awesome Oscillator had stayed in positive territory for several sessions, although the latest bars turned a bit shorter than the earlier ones, indicating that bullish momentum softened compared to the previous stretch. Volume also came in higher than several recent sessions, giving the move a healthier profile. A key non-technical driver came from ongoing enthusiasm around the newly launched XRP ETF, which continued to fuel interest among retail and institutional traders alike. Market participants are now watching whether XRP can challenge the $2.60 region, while the recent ETF catalyst may keep sentiment active in the short term.
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