On October 19, a commentary on mounting trade tensions between the United States and China described a “new normal” emerging for the global economic outlook.
The piece highlighted how persistent tariffs, export controls, and geopolitical friction are beginning to weigh seriously on the growth trajectory of global trade flows — a critical driver of advanced economy activity.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its October 2025 “World Economic Outlook” reiterated that global growth remains sluggish: projected at ~3.2% in 2025 and ~3.1% in 2026, with advanced economies growing around 1.5% and emerging markets just above 4%.
The report emphasized that although near-term projections were marginally revised upward, the underlying trend remains one of softness — with risks including protectionism, labour-supply shocks and financial vulnerabilities.
On October 23, U.S. customs authorities announced upgrades to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system for imports of steel, aluminium and copper subject to Section 232 tariffs or IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) duties.
This signals that trade enforcement and data-reporting burdens are rising for firms, especially those sourcing inputs globally — a subtle but important cost for supply-chain resilience.
On October 19, a forex news summary noted disappointing growth data in the Eurozone — for instance, a reported GDP growth rate of only ~1.1% in Euro-area metrics — which raised questions about the region’s economic momentum.
This kind of lagging performance puts pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) and opens the possibility of more policy support, though with limited room given global inflation dynamics.
According to a report on October 19, Bitcoin was down about 5% for October-to-date, marking its worst performance in October since 2015.
The common seasonal term “Uptober” (used because October often sees crypto up-moves) has failed to materialise this year — largely due to macro risks, weak liquidity and the U.S.–China tariff standoff.
A weekly crypto recap (Oct 26) noted Bitcoin moving from about US$107 000 to over US$111 000, while altcoins were mixed.
Key themes: increasing institutional interest, speculation on policy shifts (for example a forthcoming rate-cut), and heightened attention on regulatory/market infrastructure developments.
On October 26, a crypto-markets article highlighted that major cryptocurrencies were trading higher in anticipation of a likely Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut — a trend driven in part by hopes of looser policy and attendant risk-asset appetite.
The expectation of the Fed cutting its policy rate by around 25 bps to ~4% was flagged as a key catalyst. Crypto traders are increasingly treating macro policy as a driver of digital-asset flows.
In other crypto news this week:
A prediction market tracked whether former Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) might return to Binance by year-end.
The NFT marketplace OpenSea confirmed its upcoming native token (SEA) to launch in Q1 2026 with 50% of supply allocated to the community.
An AI model (DeepSeek V3.1) out-performed rivals (including a version of GPT) in a crypto-trading test, showing the increasing role of AI in digital-asset trading.
Looking ahead into the week following Oct 26, here are key themes and risks to monitor:
Monetary policy decisions: The Fed is broadly expected to cut rates (around 25 bps) and provide updated guidance. The timing and language will matter greatly for both traditional markets and crypto assets.
Trade & geopolitics: Given the revived U.S.–China trade tensions, any escalation (or de-escalation) will ripple through commodity flows, supply chains and risk-sentiment in both equities and crypto.
Economic data releases: With several central banks (including ECB, possibly Bank of Japan) active and major CPI, employment, and GDP figures due, surprises either way could trigger sharp moves.
Crypto-market structure: Institutional adoption remains a theme — whether in the form of collateralisation of digital assets for loans (as floated by large banks) or token launches and infrastructure build-outs. Watch for announcements that might shift flow or sentiment.
Liquidity & positioning: Many markets entered the week with lingering caution (on inflation, yield curves, etc.). If liquidity becomes thin, volatility spikes are possible. Crypto in particular could respond non-linearly to a catalyst or shock.
Bottom-line: The convergence of macro policy, trade geopolitics and digital-asset infrastructure means next week may drive a meaningful re-rating in both economic sentiment and crypto markets. Staying alert to central-bank signals and cross-asset flows will be especially important.
We are excited to announce the listing of trending trading pairs on our platform (Spot and Futures) during the last week:
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