Golden Bull Run: Bitcoin’s Chase for Supremacy

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Greetings!

Here’s what’s making headlines today:

• Leading cryptocurrencies show mixed performance; Bitcoin stable at $123,000.
• ZCash experiences a surge, up 35%, topping crypto gainers; RAIL network sees a dramatic 100% increase.
• Block, spearheaded by Jack Dorsey, introduces Bitcoin payment options for merchants using Square.
• Luxembourg’s sovereign wealth fund allocates 1% of its portfolio to Bitcoin.
• Jupiter partners with Ethena to launch JupUSD, a new stablecoin.

Bitcoin vs. Gold: Reaching New Highs, Different Paths

Both Bitcoin, often dubbed “digital gold,” and traditional gold have recently achieved all-time highs.

Gold has shown stronger growth this year. Will it maintain this lead?

Key Developments

Bitcoin achieved a new peak on October 6th, hitting $126,000.

Subsequently, gold reached a record high of $4,070 just two days later.

Year-to-date, gold has increased by an impressive 52%, dwarfing Bitcoin’s 32% gain.

Bitcoin’s rise is partly fueled by $5.3 billion in ETF inflows, with IBIT becoming a leading ETF.

Gold’s gains are driven by expectations of interest rate cuts, its reputation as a safe haven, and central bank accumulation.

The market capitalization of gold significantly outweighs that of Bitcoin, at over $27 trillion compared to Bitcoin’s $2.6 trillion.

Gold’s market cap is over ten times larger than Bitcoin’s. Notably, gold’s market cap has increased by $4.2 Trillion, the entire crypto market cap, in just the last 3 months.

This demonstrates that we are still in the early stages of crypto adoption.

Insights: Comparing Gold and Bitcoin

Which asset is better positioned for growth as of October 2025?

Bitcoin

• Renewed ETF demand: Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of $1.2 billion on Monday, second only to the Trump pump day, representing a consistent source of demand.
• Shrinking Supply: Exchange balances are at multi-year lows, concentrating price impact when new ETF demand enters the market.
• Macro factors: Anticipated rate cuts and seasonal trends support Bitcoin’s bullish outlook.

Gold

• Sustained Institutional Buying (China): Central banks, particularly in China and BRICS nations, have consistently purchased approximately 1,000 tonnes annually (near record pace in ’22-’23),.
• ETF Participation: Gold-backed ETFs are experiencing strong inflows, strengthening the spot/futures market and increasing the demand.
• Real Interest Rate Expectations: Lower real interest rate expectations, a weaker USD, and macroeconomic and political tensions contribute to gold’s appeal as a safe haven.

A prudent approach would be to invest in both.

If I had to choose, I would choose Bitcoin.

In general, both assets are driven by currency devaluation, which is not expected to disappear soon.

The generational transfer of wealth in the upcoming years, from boomers to millennials and Gen Z, sets Bitcoin apart from gold.

Those raised in the digital age are more likely to embrace Bitcoin than traditional gold.

I expect Bitcoin to close the gap in the coming decade and potentially surpass gold, though it may take decades.

Market Trends and Web3 Updates

A selection of notable headlines in crypto and Web3:

• Cryptocurrency market shows variability; Bitcoin maintains $123,000, Ethereum down 2% at $4,380, BNB dips 2% to $1,285, Solana gains 1% at $224.
• Top performers include ZEC (up 38%), XMR (up 4%), and ENA (up 3%).
• ZEC has increased over 140% in the last two weeks because of Grayscale access and Naval support.
• Bitcoin ETFs saw $440M in total inflow, continuing an eight-day inflow streak; Ethereum continued this streak with $69 million in inflows.
• Block, headed by Jack Dorsey, released Bitcoin payment options for retailers and an integrated wallet, enabling companies to take BTC and convert profits using Square’s infrastructure.
• MetaMask has enabled Hyperliquid swaps within its wallet, while indicating support for a Polymarket integration.
• Luxembourg’s Wealth Fund allocated 1% of its assets to Bitcoin ETFs.
• Bloomberg named Shayne Coplan, Polymarket’s CEO, the youngest self-made billionaire.
• Coinbase launched staking in New York, enabling ETH, SOL, ATOM and other altcoins for local residents.

Corporate Holdings/ETFs

Memes

• Most memecoins declined; DOGE is down 4%, Shiba is down 4%, PEPE is down 6%, PENGU is down 5%, BONK is down 4%, TRUMP is down 4%, SPX is up 6%, and FARTCOIN is down 13%.
• BNB memecoins mainly cooled off, though BNBHolder gained 67x to $70M and Meme Rush rose 17x to $18M.
• Pumpfun Pepe on Solana rose 86% to $5M.

Token, Airdrop, and Protocol Updates

A summary of significant news concerning tokens, protocols, and airdrops:

• Jupiter and Ethena collaborated to launch the Solana-based JupUSD stablecoin.
• CCP Games announced EVE Frontier, a new survival MMO built on the Sui network.
• Coinflow secured $25M to scale stablecoin payments.
• Plume acquired Dinero to enhance institutional DeFi yields.
• Football dot Fun released its NFL product after Soccer.
• Hyperswap revealed its TGE date, October 20.

NFT Market Overview

Key headlines from the NFT space:

• NFT Market Overview: Leading NFTs were mostly down; Punks stable at 48.4 ETH, Pudgy down 1% at 9.4 ETH, BAYC stable at 8.81 ETH; Hypurr’s down 1% at 1,248 HYPE.
• Doodles, up 6% stood out as a top gainer.
• Punk Strategy went through a roller coaster, dropping to $100M then rebounding to $180M (now back to $140M) after founder Rhynotic and Jack Butcher implemented changes.
• Check Strategy (CHKSTR) launched, initially reaching $5M before settling at $3M.
• OpenSea expanded into Telegram tokens and NFTs.