Bitcoin Tops $81K as NEAR Jumps 23%

Bitcoin traded just above $81,000 during Monday's Asian session, extending a slow climb as regional equities and U.S. stock futures moved higher. BTC was up less than 1% over 24 hours after the SEC cleared a path for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks, a move that helped trigger a short squeeze.

NEAR was the standout among major tokens, jumping about 23% to just above $4. Its rally followed a sharp increase in activity on NEAR Intents, a cross-chain swap service that lets wallets exchange tokens across networks without first moving funds between them. ZODL and Vizor are among the consumer wallets using the service for ZEC swaps, while daily ZEC volume routed through the platform rose sixfold in the past week.

Why it matters

The moves point to two separate risk-on catalysts. Bitcoin is responding to a more constructive regulatory signal around tokenized equities, while NEAR is capturing value from actual transaction activity tied to Zcash demand. The combination gives crypto traders both a macro liquidity narrative and a network-specific growth story.

Global markets added to the favorable backdrop. MSCI's Asia Pacific gauge rose nearly 1% as technology shares in South Korea and Taiwan advanced after U.S. officials described trade talks with China as very successful. S&P 500 futures gained less than 1%, Nasdaq 100 futures rose slightly more, and Brent crude fell 2% to just above $101 a barrel, easing inflation concerns.

Market impact

ZEC gained 3% to just above $1,500, while BNB rose 2% to nearly $777. Ether and HYPE also added about 2%, and XRP, DOGE, SOL and TRX rose 1% or less. The breadth of the move suggests improving sentiment, but Bitcoin's gain remained modest compared with NEAR's token-specific surge.

BTSE chief operating officer Jeff Mei attributed Bitcoin's weekend spike to the SEC development and the short squeeze that followed. He also expects volatility to build ahead of the Federal Reserve's late-October meeting, leaving upcoming official remarks and the next inflation reading as key tests for the risk-on trade.