Bitcoin Holds Above $81,000 as NEAR Gains 23% on Zcash Swap Traffic

Bitcoin traded just above $81,000 during the Asian session, up less than 1% in the past 24 hours. The price lift follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to allow on‑chain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks, which sparked a short‑squeeze in the market.

NEAR’s Strong Performance

NEAR was the standout token, rising roughly 23% to just above $4. The gain is linked to NEAR Intents, a cross‑chain swap service that enables users to exchange tokens across different blockchains without moving funds manually. Major consumer wallets such as ZODL and Vizor integrated the service to offer ZEC swaps, and daily ZEC volume routed through NEAR Intents jumped sixfold in a single week.

Broader Market Moves

Other major cryptocurrencies also posted modest gains: ZEC rose 3% to just above $1,500, BNB increased 2% to near $777, Ether and HYPE each climbed about 2%, and XRP, DOGE, SOL and TRX advanced 1% or less.

Equities and Commodities Context

Asian equity markets rose, with MSCI’s Asia‑Pacific index up nearly 1% on strong technology shares in South Korea and Taiwan. U.S. stock futures also edged higher after U.S. officials described trade talks with China as “very successful.” Brent crude fell 2% to just above $101 a barrel, easing inflation concerns and supporting Treasury futures.

Outlook

Jeff Mei, COO of exchange BTSE, attributed the recent Bitcoin rally to the SEC’s tokenized‑stock clearance and the ensuing short squeeze. He noted limited catalysts this week aside from upcoming Federal Reserve remarks, suggesting potential volatility ahead of the Fed’s late‑October meeting.