- The Crypto Minute
- Posts
- The Crypto Minute
The Crypto Minute
Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Crypto Rollercoaster.
Jiří Makovský & CoinBrain
October 27, 2025 • Reading Time: 11 minutes
CZ got pardoned by Trump, did you hear? 🤯 This week has been so crazy that people actually remembered NFTs exist, after the CS2 update erased $2B in skin value. 🎮 All that and more in this week’s The Crypto Minute! 🚀
⤵️ Today’s Agenda:
Trump pardoned Binance founder CZ, sending shockwaves through both politics and crypto.
Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol ended their $120M feud, with both projects agreeing to return tokens and move on.
Counter-Strike 2’s update erased $2B in skin value. NFTs are back on the menu.
JPMorgan plans to let clients borrow against Bitcoin and Ether, signaling deeper institutional adoption.
The crypto framework bill hit another wall in Washington as partisan fights stalled progress on the RFIA.
And more…
📊 Market Snapshot
| $111,800BTC+5.2% | $3,956.90ETH+1.8% | $3.77TCrypto Market Cap+3.6% | 40 (Fear)Fear & Greed Index+11 from last week |
📅 Crypto Events You Don’t Want to Miss
📌 Wednesday, Oct 29th:
US Federal Funds Rate: The overnight rate banks charge each other, the Fed’s main lever to steer the economy.
US FOMC Statement: The Fed’s post-meeting note that sums up its policy moves and economic outlook.
US FOMC Press Conference: Get hyped for the Fed Chair’s live briefing, where policy moves meet hot takes on inflation, growth, and market vibes.
📌 Friday, Oct 31st: Tracks how much prices actually moved this month once you strip out food and energy.
🐋Smart Money Tracker
Monday, Oct 20th: Whale 0x518C cashed out 402,005 $HYPE for $15.68M after holding for nine months, locking in a $5M profit.
Tuesday, Oct 21st: Bitmine, a major institutional holder, scooped up 63,539 $ETH ($251.6M) from Kraken and BitGo, bringing its stash to 3.3M $ETH worth $13.07B.
Wednesday, Oct 22nd: Whales are turning bullish, adding over $20M in fresh longs on Hyperliquid. Address 0x89AB led the charge with big leveraged bets on $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL.
Thursday, Oct 23rd: Whales have added over $24M in $LINK, with major wallets steadily stacking more from exchanges in recent months.
Friday, Oct 24th: A dormant wallet (18eY9o) with 4,000 $BTC ($442M) moved after 14 years, sending 150 $BTC ($16.6M) mined in 2009.
Saturday, Oct 25th: Trader 0xc2a3 made 3 more winning trades, earning $1.77M and pushing total profits above $14.2M, before reopening a 5x long on 16,727 $ETH ($65M).
Source: Lookonchain
📰 News Recap (Oct 20 to 26)
Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao 🧑🏻⚖️
Trump just pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance. 💥
CZ served four months in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to money-laundering violations. 😂
🔎 Binance had paid a $4.3B fine after U.S. regulators said it helped users bypass sanctions. The pardon ends months of lobbying from the exchange.
The White House said the case was “over-prosecuted” under Biden, critics said it’s corruption. You know the drill. 🤨 CZ thanked Trump on Twitter, even pinning it. 👇
Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol End $120M Token Feud 🤝
Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol just called a truce after weeks of drama over $120M in $FET tokens. 🥂 Both communities can now rejoice as their mom and dad finally stop fighting. 🎉
The dispute started after on-chain data showed an Ocean-linked wallet moving millions in tokens to Binance and GSR Markets. 🕵️♂️ Back to building! 🚀
Counter-Strike 2 Skin Market Nuked. NFT Talk Is Back 🎮
Why would Gabe do this to us?! Valve changed one mechanic and boom, $2B in skin value vanished. 💥
Players can now trade five cheap skins for rare knives and gloves, flooding the market and crashing prices. 👎 The result is one of the biggest gaming wipeouts. 😬
NFT degens quickly reminded everyone that they exist. And also that this would not have happened with NFT skins.
Fun fact: Even Vitalik once quit WoW over a similar nerf. 😂 Are NFTs back?
JPMorgan Eyes Bitcoin and Ether-Backed Loans 🚀
Will you buy a house with Bitcoin? Probably not. But Bitcoin mortgage… 💼
JPMorgan reportedly plans to let clients borrow against their Bitcoin and Ether holdings, with a third-party custodian handling the assets.
If confirmed, it would be a huge step for institutional adoption. Crypto is becoming real collateral instead of just “digital gold.” 💰
Their CEO, who once called crypto a “decentralized Ponzi scheme,” has to eat his words.
🌍️ Story of the Week: Crypto Law Hits a Wall in Washington
The long-awaited crypto framework bill has been hijacked, hitting pause. ⏸️
Senate Democrats submitted a counterproposal to the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA), and it’s already sparking toxicity on Capitol Hill. ☢️
The story of RFIA started The CLARITY Act passed the House in September.
🔎 RFIA is a proposed crypto law aiming to set clear rules for digital assets and DeFi, described by supporters as a long-overdue roadmap for innovation and investor protection.
Democrats’ version reportedly includes a “restricted list” for DeFi protocols deemed too risky, a move critics say could suffocate the entire sector. 📉
👉 Digital Chamber’s Zunera Mazhar called it “heavy-handed and outdated,” arguing it gives the Treasury sweeping control and defines decentralization too narrowly.
Zunera Mazhar is the Vice President of Policy at The Digital Chamber, where she leads advocacy on blockchain, digital assets, and financial innovation.
They Can’t Agree on Lunch, Let Alone Crypto 🧱
It's a sight everyone is used to nowadays. 😖 Talks between Democrats and Republicans are now frozen until both sides can agree on a markup session.
📣 Democrats accuse Republicans of leaking early drafts, while Republicans say Democrats are chasing headlines instead of doing the work.
Each party blames the other for the deadlock, turning what was supposed to be a bipartisan effort into another Washington stalemate. 💩 Nevertheless, the bill won't move anyway until the government is in shutdown mode. 🥶
Largest labour organization AFL-CIO vehemently opposes the RFIA because it believes the bill weakens financial oversight and puts workers’ pensions at risk.
Crypto Bros Are Livid 🤬
🔎 Crypto advocates say the proposed “restricted list” would crush DeFi and push developers offshore.
Blockchain Association’s Summer Mersinger warned it could “effectively ban decentralized finance and wallet development” in the U.S. 🛑
Variant’s Jake Chervinsky went further, calling the proposal “an unconstitutional government takeover” and “anti-innovation.” 🚨 Paradigm’s Alexander Grieve said even Gensler “couldn’t have dreamed up something worse.” 😬
For now, the RFIA is stuck in limbo, and so is the industry’s hope for real legal clarity. 💭 Washington might still talk about innovation. But right now, as often with politicians, it’s just talk. 😓
🔒 Major Token Unlocks of the Week
$AXL - 1.11% of the total supply will enter circulation on Oct 27, 2025.
$EDU - 2.10% of the total supply will enter circulation on Oct 28, 2025.
$IMX - 1.23% of the total supply will enter circulation on Oct 31, 2025.
$OGN - 1.12% of the total supply will enter circulation on Nov 1, 2025.
$EARN - 2.41% of the total supply will enter circulation on Nov 1, 2025.
Explore more unlocks with full vesting details.
💡 1 Minute Learning: Oracle Manipulation
Oracles feed real-world data to blockchains, such as prices, rates, or even weather. But what happens if someone messes with the source? 🧐
👉 That’s oracle manipulation: when attackers trick smart contracts by pushing fake prices or exploiting low-liquidity markets used for data feeds.
How it happens ⚙️
🔎 Attackers move large sums on a thin trading pair (for example $ETH/$USDC on a small DEX) right before a lending protocol checks the price.
🔎 Next, the oracle reports the spike, and the attacker cashes out a loan or liquidation at the fake value.
The interesting part is it is not a bug, it is market physics. DeFi relies on accurate data, and if that data is gamed, billions are at risk. 📉
Modern defenses 🛡️
There are ways to somewhat mitigate the problem, tho! 🚀 Protocols use time-weighted averages, multiple data sources, and trusted oracles like Chainlink to keep things fair. But it is slow and expensive. 😪
In a way, oracle manipulation is the DeFi version of insider trading. 💵 Fast, clever, and devastating if you are not prepared.
🗞️ From our Blog
And that’s a wrap! 🎉 Enjoyed this newsletter? Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.
Got any ideas or feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at [email protected].
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or make financial decisions. Always do your own research and stay safe out there.