Crypto Heads Into Fed Week With a Warning Sign in the Stablecoin Data

Crypto enters a week of 2 central bank decisions with lighter trading and a shrinking stablecoin supply. The Federal Reserve decides on October 28, and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) follows on October 30.

Markets expect both banks to hold rates steady. However, traders also price December hikes at both. That puts the focus on guidance from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Stablecoin Supply Slides as On-Chain Trading Cools

Lookonchain’s weekly report for October 19 to 25 shows total stablecoin market cap fell $2.19 billion.

On Ethereum (ETH), combined Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) balances fell $1.17 billion over 7 days. Tron (TRX) lost $495 million, the second-largest outflow among the top 15 chains. Arc posted the largest gain at $294 million.

Trading on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) slowed in the same week. Spot volume dropped 12.21% from the prior week to $44.09 billion. Perpetual futures volume fell 8.59% to $142.54 billion.

Hyperliquid, the top perp DEX in Lookonchain’s ranking, saw volume slide 8.50% to $51.68 billion. Its weekly revenue fell 10.17%, and USDT and USDC balances on the chain dropped $184 million.

Public companies kept adding crypto while on-chain activity cooled. Strive bought 6,182 Bitcoin (BTC), lifting its holdings to 43,000 BTC. BitMine added 10,452 ETH worth $24.13 million.