The News Tribune Weekly!
Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter, where we bring you the stories, trends, and developments shaping the economic, digital, and crypto world. From market movements and Bitcoin trends to emerging ideas and industry shifts, here’s what caught our attention this week.
Without further ado, let’s move on to point 1!
Bitcoin and Gold Rank Among 2026’s Worst-Performing Major Assets
Bitcoin and gold are having a difficult year, with both assets recording losses that have placed them among the worst-performing major assets of 2026. According to Charlie Bilello, Bitcoin is down 7.3% year to date, while gold has declined by 7.5%. This marks the first calendar year in which both assets have ranked among the worst performers.
Bitcoin’s weakness is also reflected in its recent price action. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $79,899 after closing lower for four consecutive days. Beyond this decline, however, Bitcoin is experiencing a prolonged period of volatility compression that could shape its next major price move.
Bitcoin Price Compression Continues
Bitcoin’s 30-day high-low range has narrowed from 13% to just 6%, indicating that its price movements have become increasingly restricted. The cryptocurrency remains within a compression zone between $80,000 and $86,000, as traders wait for a clearer market direction.
This tightening range comes as Bitcoin struggles to regain upward momentum. While the price has weakened, declining volatility could signal that a more significant move is approaching. Volatility compression typically ends with an impulsive move, although the direction of the potential breakout remains uncertain.
Key Bitcoin Levels to Watch
As the market awaits a possible breakout, two key levels remain in focus. Bitcoin recently bounced off its 365-day simple moving average (SMA 365) before closing at $80,500 on Saturday. Despite this recovery, the close marked a new 30-day low, reinforcing concerns about its recent price performance.
The $86,000 level represents the upper boundary of Bitcoin’s current compression range, while the SMA 365 remains an important level to watch below. How Bitcoin responds around these levels could offer clues about its next direction. Until a decisive move emerges, the cryptocurrency remains caught between continued price weakness and the possibility of a sharp move as volatility compression persists.
📉 XRP Wallets Hit 8.24 Million, but the Price Still Struggles
The XRP Ledger is attracting more funded accounts even as XRP struggles to regain upward momentum. The network has reached a record 8.24 million addresses holding XRP, suggesting that activity across the ecosystem continues despite the token’s recent price weakness.
However, a growing wallet count does not automatically translate into stronger buying demand. XRP still needs to overcome key resistance levels before its latest adoption figures can support a convincing price recovery.
📊 XRP Ledger Sets a New Wallet Record
Data from Santiment shows that the XRP Ledger added 4,772 funded addresses in a single day, marking its fifth-largest daily increase since March.
The latest figure follows a period of continued account growth. The network approached eight million funded addresses towards the end of June before crossing that threshold in July.
Reaching 8.24 million indicates that the expansion has continued despite the wider market downturn.
Santiment sees the rise in new accounts as a potentially positive signal, particularly if price action begins to strengthen alongside network growth.
Still, the figures do not reveal exactly how many new investors have arrived. One person can operate multiple wallets, while exchanges may use a single address to hold assets belonging to thousands of customers. The balance in each wallet also varies considerably, meaning a small holder counts just as much as an address containing millions of XRP.
⚠️ More Wallets Do Not Guarantee Higher Prices
XRP’s market performance has yet to reflect the network’s expansion. On October 25, the token was trading around $1.30, after briefly falling towards $1.25 the previous day.
The price has struggled to move beyond $1.40, a level that traders are watching for signs of renewed bullish momentum. This weakness has persisted even as the number of funded addresses continues to climb.
Wallet growth also needs to be considered alongside other measures, including transaction volumes, stablecoin transfers and activity across applications built on the ledger. These indicators can help establish whether new accounts are generating meaningful economic activity or simply increasing the headline count.
📈 Can XRP Break Through $1.40?
Santiment’s outlook depends partly on whether network expansion continues alongside a price recovery. A sustained move above $1.40, accompanied by at least 4,000 new wallets daily, could strengthen the case for XRP to approach $1.50.
On the other hand, a decline below $1.30 alongside daily wallet additions falling under 3,000 would weaken the near-term adoption signal.
For now, the 8.24 million-address record offers evidence of continued growth across the XRP Ledger, but it is not a guarantee of higher prices. The next challenge is turning that expanding network into sustained usage and stronger demand for XRP itself.
Weekly Recap: The Headlines That Made a Splash!
Like every Monday, here’s your pick of last week’s crypto news that you absolutely shouldn’t have missed!
However, if you’re the type who likes to stay updated every day, we’ve got just the thing for you. We’ve set up a Daily on our Substack. In just five minutes, you’ll be fully in the loop on everything happening in the crypto world! 😎
₿ Tesla and SpaceX Could Unite 30,221 Bitcoin Under One Corporate Group
Tesla and SpaceX are officially examining a possible merger after Elon Musk confirmed that both companies have formed independent committees to assess the deal. The move would bring their Bitcoin holdings under one corporate group: SpaceX holds 18,712 BTC, while Tesla owns 11,509 BTC, for a combined 30,221 BTC worth nearly $2.5 billion at a price of around $82,700. No agreement, transaction structure or timeline has been announced, and shareholder approval would be required. The potential merger extends well beyond Bitcoin, bringing together businesses in rockets, satellite connectivity, electric vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence. For now, the two companies’ Bitcoin reserves remain separate.
👉 Read the article
⚡Solana Activates Alpenglow in a Major Shift Toward 150-Millisecond Finality
Solana activated its Alpenglow consensus upgrade on its mainnet on October 21, replacing TowerBFT, the mechanism used since the network launched. The new protocol targets transaction finality of around 150 milliseconds, compared with approximately 12.8 seconds previously. The transition involved 654 validators and took place without a network-wide outage. Alpenglow’s Votor mechanism allows validators to exchange votes directly and combine signatures into compact certificates, rather than recording each vote as an on-chain transaction. This frees block space and changes how quickly transactions can become irreversible. However, the activation covers only part of the planned upgrade: Rotor, a new block-propagation system, is still to come. Actual performance under heavy network activity remains to be assessed.
👉 Read the article
⚖️ Cardano Foundation Challenges Proposed EU Rules for DeFi and Staking
The Cardano Foundation has challenged proposed changes to Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), arguing that decentralised finance and staking should not be subject to separate regulatory frameworks. In a response submitted to the European Commission on September 30 and published on October 21, the foundation calls for rules based on the services provided and the risks involved, rather than the technology used. It specifically wants regulators to distinguish direct ADA delegation, which allows holders to retain control of their tokens, from staking services operated by intermediaries. Meanwhile, the European Securities and Markets Authority has proposed defining DeFi more precisely and introducing targeted obligations for providers offering access to decentralised protocols. The consultation has not yet produced a legislative proposal.
👉 Read the article
⏱️ Ethereum Researchers Propose Cutting Transaction Finality From 16 to 4 Minutes
Ethereum researchers are exploring a change that could reduce transaction finality from around 16 minutes to four. The proposal, known as Decoupled Consensus, would separate validators’ votes for selecting new blocks from those used to confirm earlier blocks permanently. This could allow finality to proceed on a faster, independently adjustable schedule. The potential economic benefit is significant for businesses that advance funds while waiting for blockchain transfers to become irreversible. A service moving $1 million per hour would need roughly $267,000 tied up during a 16-minute wait, compared with about $67,000 if finality took four minutes. The proposal remains under study, with voting procedures, penalties and security details still to be defined. No implementation date has been announced.
👉 Read the article
📉 Gold Drops Below $4,000 as Precious Metals Lose Over $1 Trillion
Gold fell below $4,000 an ounce as a broad sell-off swept through precious metals and other commodities. On Thursday, gold lost 2.8%, while silver plunged 5.8%; platinum, palladium and copper also declined. The two-day losses across the metals covered exceeded $1.3 trillion, according to estimates cited by Cointribune. Rising oil prices and renewed inflation concerns pushed markets to reassess the outlook for US interest rates, with traders pricing in a high probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. Analysts are watching support between $3,924 and $3,942, while $4,198.93 is the next resistance level.
👉 Read the article
🏛️ Senate Investigates Alleged $6.3 Million Payment Linked to Tether and a Former White House Adviser
Tether is facing a US Senate investigation following allegations that it paid $6.3 million to Nxum, a consulting firm co-founded and partly owned by Bo Hines while he served as a White House crypto adviser. According to reporting cited by Cointribune, the funds allegedly passed through another firm, Notorious. Investigators are examining whether the payments were connected to efforts to influence the GENIUS Act, US legislation governing stablecoins. The allegations also raise questions about potential conflicts of interest and the transition between government service and private-sector employment: Hines later became CEO of Tether’s US business. Senate investigators have requested contracts, financial records and communications by November 6, 2026. The allegations have not been established as proven wrongdoing.
👉 Read the article
📈 Bitcoin Bets Drive Prediction Markets to a Record $2.7 Billion Week
Crypto-related prediction markets on Kalshi and Polymarket reached a combined weekly trading volume of $2.7 billion in mid-October. Bitcoin contracts accounted for most of the activity, with Kalshi alone recording more than $2 billion in BTC-related trading. Short-term contracts asking whether Bitcoin will rise or fall over the next 15 minutes have become a major driver, allowing users to trade repeatedly throughout the day. Crypto markets now rank second only to sports on both platforms. The reported volume measures the total value of contracts traded, including positions resold multiple times, rather than new money deposited. The rapid expansion is also drawing attention to the risks of short-term speculation and ongoing regulatory disputes over prediction markets in the United States.
👉 Read the article
🚫 US Orders Federal Civilian Agencies to Remove DeepSeek From Their Systems
The US administration has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and related technologies from government systems, citing concerns about data security and potential exposure to Chinese infrastructure. The directive also restricts federal purchases of products from DeepSeek and its affiliates, including third-party tools built on their technology. National security and intelligence systems are excluded from the order. Washington points to risks involving personal data stored in China, digital tracking and vulnerabilities in the app. Beijing has condemned the decision as discriminatory and called for the restrictions to be withdrawn. The move comes alongside US sanctions against five Chinese entities accused of involvement in the theft of artificial intelligence trade secrets. The directive’s stated effective date and its later publication in the Federal Register have also raised questions about the timeline for agencies seeking exemptions.
👉 Read the article
That’s the end of our weekly roundup! 😄
A big thank you for reading. We’ll see you next Monday with even more juicy news from the crypto world!
The Newsletter does not provide investment advice, nor does it offer recommendations to buy or sell financial securities. Any opinions or views that the Newsletter may express in the course of its research activities, particularly regarding markets and/or financial instruments, cannot be held financially liable. Any paid promotions will always be clearly indicated so as not to mislead the reader.
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