Morning Minute: Bitcoin Hits $86,000 as Oil Slides and ETFs Bid

Bitcoin surged past $86,000 this week, contributing to a total crypto market capitalization topping $3 trillion. The move came alongside heavy buying into spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded $999 million of inflows on Monday and roughly $715 million in net inflows on Tuesday, according to the newsletter. Short-term price action showed some cooling afterward, with an intraday update listing BTC at about $85.3k.

Major altcoins participated in the advance: Ethereum traded near $2,750, Solana reached about $120, and a range of smaller tokens posted new all-time highs. The newsletter singled out ZEC and HYPE as recent ATHs, while 97 of the top 100 coins were reported as positive on a seven-day basis. NFT assets such as CryptoPunks also saw renewed demand, with the floor moving above 34 ETH and 37 sales in the prior 24 hours.

Market-wide tailwinds included a pullback in oil: Brent briefly dipped below $98 and WTI under $93 after reports that Iran might allow reopening of the Strait of Hormuz if U.S. pressure eased, and as Saudi Arabia worked to restart its East-West pipeline. Equities also showed strength—Nasdaq had a record close Monday, rising 2.26%—which the newsletter cited alongside ETF demand as supporting crypto’s rally.

Regulatory and product developments were also highlighted. The CME plans to launch Bitcoin Cash and Uniswap futures on Oct. 19 pending regulatory review, adding more single-asset crypto contracts in both standard and Micro sizes. The SEC and CFTC were described as providing clearer market structure signals, and asset managers and exchanges continue to roll out new products, including Europe’s first Zcash ETP. The newsletter additionally noted ongoing innovation around tokenized stocks on Robinhood Chain and industry moves toward institutional custody and post-quantum preparedness.