Meme coin trading drove a rise in on-chain activity: Solana’s active addresses surged 38% over the past week, while BNB Chain’s 24-hour trading volume increased 45%.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes wrote in an article that at the onset of every major bull market, the crypto market must navigate a wall of worry made up of various concerns. In 2017, this took the form of the block size debate; in 2020, it was the COVID-19 pandemic; in 2023, it was the FTX collapse and central bank interest rate hikes; and for 2026, it is the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) sparked by AI crypto technology. The money-printing spree will eventually arrive, driving a sharp rally in asset prices.

According to HTX market data, as Bitcoin weakens, altcoins in the crypto market have also seen sharp synchronized declines. Among them: ORCA is down 17.75% in 24 hours, currently trading at $2.358; MINA is down 16.27% in 24 hours, currently at $0.0777; NEAR is down 15.88% in 24 hours, currently at $4.517; ZEC is down 10.46% in 24 hours, currently at $1194; PUMP is down 9.54% in 24 hours, currently at $0.005635.

Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is demanding Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald explain its relationship with Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. If Democrats make further gains in the November elections, Blumenthal and his colleagues could soon gain expanded investigative authority. On Thursday, Blumenthal sent a letter to Cantor CEO Brandon Lutnick, son of Howard Lutnick, who served as U.S. President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary and handed over management of the firm to his son after joining the administration. Blumenthal has been investigating Tether’s role in Iran’s financial system, and noted that Tether, the issuer of USDT, has a lucrative business relationship with Cantor Fitzgerald, which manages its U.S. reserve assets. In the letter, Blumenthal wrote: “Just as Tether has reaped incalculable interest income and investment gains from stablecoins used in these illegal activities, Cantor Fitzgerald has also profited from its partnership with Tether.” He also asked Brandon Lutnick to explain the firm’s banking operations and sanctions compliance safeguards, and inquired about his father’s prior dealings with Tether during his tenure at Cantor.

Three U.S. aircraft carriers are expected to converge in the Middle East in the coming weeks, and the Pentagon has drafted plans to strike Iran’s missile, drone, and energy facilities. However, Trump said U.S.-Iran talks are still making progress and has no intention of launching an attack before the November midterm elections. The Iranian president stated that Iran will not withdraw from the negotiating table. According to BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S. stocks closed Thursday: the Dow Jones rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 fell 0.47%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.25%. During U.S. trading hours, news that OpenAI’s annual revenue is $20 billion lower than prior reports pressured tech stocks lower. Nvidia (NVDA.O) slid nearly 3%, while SpaceX (SPCX.O), Micron Technology (MU.O), and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell over 4%; Oracle (ORCL.N) and Intel (INTC.O) declined more than 5%. Per HTX market data, Bitcoin rebounded slightly after a pullback, now trading at $81,862, with its 24-hour loss narrowing to 1.81%.

IMF schedule indicates that Federal Reserve Chair Waller will attend and deliver a speech at the IMF Annual Meeting in Bangkok at 11:30 AM Beijing Time on October 16. This date also marks the final day of the Federal Reserve’s pre-meeting blackout period ahead of its October 27-28 policy meeting. Markets are currently pricing in an approximately 80% probability that the Fed will pause interest rate hikes at the October meeting, followed by a rate hike in December.

According to a New York Times report, U.S. officials said that despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambivalent stance on resuming war, the U.S. military is preparing options to launch large-scale operations against Iran again. Three aircraft carriers are set to arrive in the Middle East, and per Trump’s directives, the Pentagon has drawn up plans to strike Iran’s drone and missile depots, energy facilities, and other military targets. Officials revealed that over recent months, Trump’s national security team and the Pentagon have put forward large-scale military operation plans targeting Iran or the Houthis five times, all of which were rejected by Trump. Meanwhile, Trump has once again ordered the launch of the strike plans. Senior national security officials led by Vice President J.D. Vance held a meeting at Camp David last Friday to discuss the relevant plans. Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that the core of these plans is a short, high-intensity operation lasting approximately three days, focusing on Iran’s missile and drone depots, with other potential targets including Iran’s energy facilities and command posts and headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The latest development comes as Trump said the U.S. and Iran are holding productive discussions, and that the U.S. will not attack Iran ahead of the midterm elections.