The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has released its e-HKD Pilot Programme Phase 2 Report, developed with analytical input from Deloitte. The report examines how central bank digital currencies and digital money forms could transform Hong Kong's financial infrastructure. It covers settlement efficiency, programmable payments, and offline functionality across 11 industry partnerships in banking, payments, and technology sectors.

Digital asset markets experienced significant volatility on October 31 as over $16 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options reached maturity. More than $1.2 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated within 24 hours, erasing approximately $200 billion from total crypto market capitalization. Analysts highlight contrasting outlooks for BTC and ETH amid the expiry event.

Bittensor's TAO token has risen 18% to $490, leading daily cryptocurrency gainers. The advance follows the October 29 launch of the world's first staked Bittensor Exchange Traded Product by Deutsche Digital Assets and Safello. TAO maintains a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, remaining the largest AI-focused token by this measure.

Cryptocurrency traders experience elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and stress compared to non-investors, according to a National Library of Medicine study analyzing 11,177 participants across multiple countries. The research found trading behaviors mirror high-risk gambling patterns, with participants demonstrating compulsive activities that persist despite financial losses. Extreme market volatility creates psychological pressures as prices can swing 20% overnight, leaving traders in constant cycles of anticipation and remorse.

Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, reported profits exceeding $10 billion for the first nine months of 2025, with third-quarter earnings surpassing $4.3 billion. The company issued an additional $17 billion in USDT during Q3. Tether's U.S. Treasury holdings reached $135 billion, while it also holds nearly $13 billion in precious metals and $10 billion in Bitcoin.

Nordea, the Nordic region's largest bank, will offer customers access to a Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded product starting December 2025. The move marks a significant shift for the institution, which banned employees from holding Bitcoin in 2018 and previously avoided digital assets due to regulatory concerns. The product, developed with CoinShares, will track Bitcoin's price without requiring direct cryptocurrency ownership.

Standard Chartered projects the tokenized real-world asset market will grow to $2 trillion by 2028, up from the current $35.5 billion market capitalization. The bank cites stablecoin liquidity and decentralized finance infrastructure as primary drivers for the anticipated 57-fold expansion. Regulatory clarity remains the sector's key risk factor, according to the institution's analysis.

Ripple will unlock 1 billion XRP tokens from escrow on November 1, 2025, as part of its regular monthly schedule. At the current price of $2.49 per token, the release is valued at approximately $2.49 billion. Historically, Ripple sells or utilizes only 200–300 million XRP from each unlock and re-locks the remainder.