Bitcoin climbed past $81,000 during Monday's Asian trading session, while NEAR surged 23% on a wave of swap activity tied to Zcash. The moves came alongside a broader improvement in risk sentiment, driven by regulatory developments in U.S. equity markets and progress in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
Bitcoin Extends Its Climb
Bitcoin traded just above $81,000 as of Monday morning in Asia, up less than 1% over the prior 24 hours, according to CoinDesk market data. The gain builds on momentum that began after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cleared a new path for onchain trading of tokenized stocks. Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at exchange BTSE, attributed the weekend's price jump to the SEC decision and the short squeeze that followed it. Mei added that he does not expect major scheduled catalysts this week beyond commentary from Federal Reserve officials.
SEC Clears Onchain Trading of Tokenized Stocks
The SEC granted a five-year exemption allowing onchain trading venues to list tokenized U.S. stocks that are backed 1:1 by the underlying shares, including full voting rights and dividend entitlements, according to Unchained Crypto's coverage of the order. Under the exemption, trading venues built on automated market makers and liquidity pools can operate without registering as exchanges under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. SEC Chair Paul Atkins described the move as a step toward integrating digital markets into the broader framework of the agency's authority. The exemption requires trading venues to be U.S.-based entities and to notify stock issuers at least 30 days before listing a tokenized version of their shares.
NEAR Surges on Zcash Swap Demand
NEAR rose roughly 23% to just above $4, the largest gain among major tokens on Monday. The rally traces to NEAR Intents, a cross-chain swap service on the NEAR blockchain that lets wallets exchange one token for another without manually bridging funds between chains. Consumer wallets including ZODL and Vizor have integrated the service to offer swaps into Zcash (ZEC), and daily ZEC volume routed through NEAR Intents rose sixfold over the past week, according to CoinDesk. Separate data from The Defiant shows NEAR Intents has processed close to $800 million in swaps and payments over the past 30 days, with weekly active users surpassing 113,000.
Broader Market Movers
Beyond bitcoin and NEAR, several other tokens posted gains on Monday. Zcash (ZEC) rose 3% to just above $1,500, while BNB gained 2% to nearly $777. Ether and HYPE each advanced approximately 2%, and XRP, Dogecoin, Solana and Tron each rose 1% or less.
Macro Backdrop: US-China Trade Talks
Asian equities rose alongside crypto markets after U.S. officials described trade talks with China as "very successful," ahead of a planned summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping this week. MSCI's Asia Pacific index climbed nearly 1%, led by technology stocks in South Korea and Taiwan. S&P 500 futures rose less than 1% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained slightly more. Brent crude fell 2% to just above $101 a barrel, marking its fourth consecutive daily decline and easing inflation concerns.
Outlook
Mei said he expects limited near-term catalysts this week outside of Federal Reserve commentary, but anticipates rising volatility as the Fed's late-October policy meeting approaches. More than a month remains before that meeting, during which a single inflation report and a series of Fed speeches are likely to shape investor positioning.
