Bitcoin traded just above $81,000 on Monday morning in Asia following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Thursday approval of onchain trading for tokenized U.S. stocks. The price move came as analysts attributed the weekend spike and subsequent short squeeze to the regulatory clearance.
The SEC decision opened a regulatory pathway for securities trading directly on blockchain networks. Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer at cryptocurrency exchange BTSE, flagged potential volatility ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for late October. “I’d expect more volatility in the last few weeks leading up to that event,” Mei said.
NEAR Surge on Cross-Chain Volume
NEAR token surged approximately 23 percent to around $4 as its cross-chain swap service routed heavy Zcash (ZEC) trading volume. Daily ZEC volume routed through NEAR Intents jumped sixfold over the past week,
NEAR Intents is a swap service built on the NEAR blockchain that enables cross-chain token swaps without requiring users to move funds between chains first. Major consumer wallets ZODL and Vizor integrated ZEC swaps through the service, positioning NEAR as a routing layer for heavily traded ZEC tokens. ZEC itself traded near $1,500.
Broader Market Moves
Asian equities and U.S. futures rose on progress in U.S.-China trade talks, which U.S. officials described as “very successful” ahead of a Trump-Xi summit. The MSCI Asia Pacific gauge climbed nearly 1 percent, while S&P 500 futures rose less than 1 percent and Nasdaq 100 contracts gained a little more than 1 percent.
Technology shares led gains in South Korea and Taiwan. ZEC, BNB (at $777), Ether, and HYPE each posted 2 percent gains, while XRP, DOGE, SOL, and TRX rose 1 percent or less.
Brent crude fell 2 percent to $101 a barrel, marking its fourth consecutive day of declines and easing inflation concerns. The decline came as markets digested mixed signals from regulatory approval, cross-chain activity, and geopolitical developments.
