A brutal market close

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Hi everyone. It was an ugly finish to the week across risk assets as stocks bled, gold slipped and BTC briefly knifed down to the $80K handle. Even Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings could not turn sentiment around, with weakening rate cut odds dragging everything lower. Crypto bore the brunt of it, with Miners and Crypto Equities getting hit the hardest, while Solana ETF flows stood out as one of the only bright spots.

To help you step back from the noise, here are a few weekend reads worth your time.

It was a rough Thursday, with major indices sliding across the board. The tech-heavy S&P 500 fell -2.4%, the Nasdaq dropped -3.8%, and even Gold edged lower by -0.60%. BTC took the biggest hit, falling -5.2% and briefly touching the $80K level earlier today.

The selloff came despite a strong earnings report from Nvidia, which makes the market reaction harder to pinpoint. The United States unemployment rate for September ticked up to 4.4% even as job growth beat expectations. At the same time, the odds of a December rate cut have fallen sharply from 45.4% last week to 28% now, and that shift in macro expectations is likely contributing to the recent weakness.

Across crypto sectors, everything finished in the red. Two areas held up relatively well: Gaming at -2.8% and the Revenue sector at -3.2%.

On the other side, Crypto Equities and Miners were the hardest hit, falling -10.3% and -13.2%, respectively. The monthly picture is even more painful, with HOOD at -17.6%, COIN at -27%, and GLXY at -38%. Miners remain weighed down by skepticism around the AI trade and whether the pivot to AI data centers will deliver returns.

One bright spot remains Solana ETF flows. While BTC and ETH ETFs have seen consistent outflows since Oct. 28, SOL ETFs just logged their 14th-straight day of inflows following the launch of BSOL. Roughly $500 million worth of SOL is now held across these ETFs, with more issuers having entered the staked SOL ETF race.

— Kunal

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Takeaways from Monday’s 0xResearch livestream:

• DAT and ETF flows: The panel analyzed the declining momentum of DAT structures as mNAV levels fell below one, reducing issuance capacity and buy pressure. The conversation noted that ETF demand appeared steadier, driven largely by tax advantages, custodial safety and traditional account integration rather than new institutional flows.

• Coinbase, Base and ecosystem growth: The discussion explored the strategic upside of Base as Coinbase began integrating lending, DEX aggregation and onchain actions directly into the centralized app. The panel argued that the multi-year growth trajectory of Base could mirror BNB Chain if Coinbase leverages exchange liquidity, distribution and product surfacing.

• Aave’s iOS app and neobank positioning: The panel examined Aave’s mobile launch, highlighting features such as card support and balance protection up to $1 million per customer. The discussion raised questions around the insurance structure, user eligibility and competitiveness against Plasma and other DeFi-oriented neobank designs.

• Morpho vs. Aave on Base and Ethereum: The discussion noted that Morpho captured nearly $2 billion in TVL on Base with zero take rates, raising questions about its long-term monetization model. The panel highlighted that Aave maintained dominance on Ethereum with roughly $25 billion in TVL, suggesting growth pressure will increasingly come from L2 expansion.

• Chain economics and protocol rent: The panel analyzed the structural challenge that chains face as app revenues decouple from chain revenues. The discussion explored the need for rent mechanisms or platform level monetization, citing Hyperliquid’s builder fee capture and Solana’s potential need to charge protocols using significant block space.

• Memecoin market structure and Pump revenue: The panel examined Pump’s sustained $1 million per day in revenue despite declining trading activity, noting that protocol buybacks had acquired roughly 12% of supply. The discussion highlighted market skepticism around future memecoin volumes and whether Pump’s long-term success requires non-meme revenue lines.

Find the full livestream on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and X.

This summary was generated with assistance from AI tooling.

The DeFi frontend security landscape is at a turning point. Awareness of frontend vulnerabilities is widespread, yet adoption of protective measures lags. Looking forward, market demand is poised to grow as institutional investors emphasize operational resilience, regulators move toward higher infrastructure standards, and high-profile exploits reinforce the urgency of stronger protections.

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