BlackRock is reportedly reaching out feelers to some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges for a potentially lucrative business deal. It wants them to allow BUIDL as collateral for derivatives trades, directly competing with Tether.

As of yet, few of the involved parties have gone on the record with specific details.

BlackRock’s Collateral Strategy

BlackRock aims to integrate its BUIDL tokenized fund into crypto derivatives trading as collateral, according to a Bloomberg report. The BUIDL fund, officially called the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity fund, has seen significant success this year, boosting real-world asset (RWA) tokens.

BlackRock, alongside its brokerage partner Securitize, is reportedly in talks with major crypto exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Deribit, regarding BUIDL’s use as collateral. However, these discussions remain largely private. Deribit’s CEO, Luuk Strijers, commented only that the exchange is “reviewing” several tokens, including BUIDL.

Read more: What Are Tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA)?

“The BUIDL ecosystem keeps growing, and we see significant potential in traders using the fund as collateral,” claimed Securitize, in some of the only public comments on these talks.

A key motivator for BlackRock is simple: it wishes to compete with Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin market, just like other firms have attempted. BUIDL is not, strictly speaking, a stablecoin; nevertheless it shares several similarities. Its value is tied to one dollar, it invests in Treasury bonds, etc. However, BUIDL also pays interest to holders, unlike stablecoins.

If major exchanges accept BUIDL as collateral instead of popular stablecoins like Tether, it could unlock a vast market. Centralized crypto exchanges handle massive trading volumes, with derivatives trades comprising the majority. By leveraging its expertise and connections in traditional finance, BlackRock stands to potentially earn billions if BUIDL gains traction in this space.

This is just one potential revenue stream that BlackRock is actively exploring. It purchased over $680 million in Bitcoin this week alone, after its ETF offering IBIT saw huge inflows. Regardless of BlackRock’s success with this particular play, its commitment to continued crypto investment seems ironclad.

Read more: What Is a Stablecoin? A Beginner’s Guide

Still, as Bloomberg pointed out, breaking into the stablecoin market is far from easy. Just this week, for example, PayPal’s own stablecoin PYUSD noticeably cratered in value. This likely explains why BlackRock is keeping its plans under wraps, cautiously evaluating BUIDL’s viability without making any major commitments.

Altcoin season might be closer than we think. The Altcoin Season Index has dropped to its lowest level since early September, signaling a potential shift.

If momentum picks up and key resistance levels are broken, altcoins could be primed for a powerful rally. Investors are watching closely, anticipating a rebound that could ignite significant gains across the altcoin market.

Altcoin Season Index Is Ready for a Rebound

A chart by Alphractal indicates that the Altcoin Season could be approaching soon. According to the Altcoin Season Index vs Bitcoin price, the Altcoin index has reached its lowest value since early September.

The Altcoin Season Index measures the percentage of altcoins outperforming BTC, and it’s currently signaling an interesting shift.

Read more: 11 Cryptos To Add To Your Portfolio Before Altcoin Season

During September, a clear pattern emerged: whenever Bitcoin’s price rallied, the Altcoin Season Index also rose. However, in recent days, BTC’s price has surged from roughly $60,000 to $68,000, while the Altcoin Season Index has fallen below 10%. This suggests that, despite Bitcoin’s strong rally, altcoins are lagging behind, creating the potential for a significant rebound.

In mid-September, a similar scenario led to the Altcoin Season Index jumping from below 5% to over 90% in just a few days. This could be an opportunity for altcoins to make a strong comeback.

Memes and AI are the Leading Narratives

Two of the most important narratives for altcoins are currently the leading narratives in the market in terms of mindshare: AI and memes. Memes lead with 32%, while AI is at 21.84%. Other significant narratives for the Altcoin season include GameFi and DeFi, with 11.39% and 7.52%, respectively.

The interest in AI and memes indicates that traders are looking for culturally resonant coins that can generate community enthusiasm and viral growth. GameFi and DeFi, though not as dominant, still represent a vital part of the altcoin ecosystem.

If these categories are gaining more mindshare than ETFs, for example, it indicates that investors are more inclined towards altcoins rather than other crypto assets like BTC and ETH. Investors appear to be seeking out opportunities beyond the traditional giants of BTC and ETH, favoring the unique characteristics and potential of specialized altcoin projects.

The rising popularity of these narratives could signal that the market is in a phase of exploration and experimentation. The promise of high returns and groundbreaking applications is driving investor enthusiasm towards altcoins.

Altcoin Season Depends On This Metric

The crypto total market cap, excluding BTC and ETH, is currently at $620 billion, down from $777 billion in April, which was its year-high level. This decline indicates a contraction in the altcoin market but also opens up possibilities for a reversal. The total market cap is likely to test the resistance at $644 billion, a level it failed to surpass between September 28 and September 30.

Breaking through this resistance could be the spark needed to trigger a new altcoin rally. That would potentially mark the beginning of the altcoin season. Such a scenario would likely bring renewed interest and momentum to altcoins.

Read more: 10 Best Altcoin Exchanges In 2024

If this resistance is broken, the crypto market, excluding BTC and ETH, could see a significant rally, testing market caps around $660 billion, $709 billion, and even $740 billion. This represents a potential 20% increase from current levels, highlighting the volatility and opportunity in the altcoin sector.

The market’s ability to break through these resistance levels would signal a broader shift in sentiment. This would draw more investors into altcoins and set the stage for a powerful rally. This kind of momentum could fuel a more sustained altcoin season, with various projects seeing substantial gains as investors seek opportunities beyond BTC and ETH.

This week in the crypto market, Bitcoin’s price surpassed $68,000, and the market capitalization returned to over $2.28 trillion.

BeInCrypto noted special investor interest in events such as Grayscale’s review of 35 altcoins for potential investment products and investors’ expectations of an altcoin season ahead of the US elections.

Additionally, Miles Deutscher has suggested several altcoins, claiming they might have a strong growth potential. The community is also paying attention to Craig Wright’s legal plans and Tesla’s Bitcoin movements.

Grayscale Unveils 35 Potential Altcoins

Earlier this week, Grayscale announced a list of 35 altcoins under consideration for future investment products. Following the announcement, many of these altcoins experienced significant price increases over the week. The top 10 altcoins on the list saw gains ranging from 13% to 49%.

Read more: 11 Cryptos To Add To Your Portfolio Before Altcoin Season

Thirty of the 35 altcoins enjoyed a green week, with only Kaspa (KAS) and Helium (HNT) facing notable declines of -4% and -7.4%, respectively.

“Assets Under Consideration lists digital assets not currently included in a Grayscale investment product but identified by our team as possible candidates for inclusion in a future product,” Grayscale explained.

Additionally, Grayscale filed with the SEC to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund into an ETF, following the success of transforming Bitcoin Trust and Ethereum Trust into spot ETFs.

Miles Deutscher Highlights 4 Altcoins

Investor Miles Deutscher introduced four altcoins that he believes could deliver 10x returns. These altcoins focus on GameFi, artificial intelligence (AI), Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), and real-world assets (RWA) sectors, including:

• SuperVerse (SUPER)
• Bittensor (TAO)
• Mantra (OM)
• Render (RNDR)

Read more: 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024

Since his announcement, the prices of these altcoins have slightly declined, which occurred as Bitcoin Dominance reached a three-year high. Deutscher also commented on meme coins, suggesting they are at a crossroads and may face a short-term correction.

Craig Wright Plans to Sue Bitcoin Core

On October 11, a tracker from the UK High Court revealed that Craig Wright is taking legal action against Bitcoin Core and Square.

Wright, representing himself in the case as a “direct claimant,” is seeking £911 billion ( ~$1.18 trillion) from Bitcoin Core and Square, alleging they misrepresented Bitcoin (BTC) as the true version of the digital asset created by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Additionally, Wright threatened to sue MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor for allegedly misrepresenting Bitcoin. The Australian computer scientist is also filing three other legal appeals in the UK, two against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and one targeting Peter McCormack.

Read more: Satoshi Nakamoto – Who is the Founder of Bitcoin?

Altcoin Season Ahead of US Presidential Election?

Throughout the week, several crypto industry experts expressed optimism for altcoin’s price ahead of the US presidential election. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggested that a Trump victory could spur regulatory changes that would trigger an altcoin season.

“If Trump wins, expect regulatory changes, including fee switches enabling token burns for revenue-generating projects,” Ki Young Ju said.

Technical analysts Michaël van de Poppe and CRG also predicted that the altcoin season could begin next month. Echoing these views, Crypto Rover forecasted an impending altcoin season by monitoring Bitcoin Dominance’s movements. Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) represents Bitcoin’s share of total market capitalization. Its adjustments often signal an altcoin rally.

Read more: Bitcoin Dominance Chart: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

Tesla Moves Bitcoin Worth Up to $760 Million

This week, Elon Musk’s Tesla unexpectedly moved nearly all of the Bitcoin it had held for the past three years to new wallet addresses. Initially, investors feared Tesla might be preparing to sell the BTC through OTC, but those concerns quickly dissipated as Bitcoin’s price remained unaffected.

“No proof it’s an OTC deal yet. Even if it was, that means someone else bought it so it’s not entirely bearish. Who knows,” Sir Doge of the Coin said.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Many now believe the move was a simple reallocation. In 2021, Musk had stated that Bitcoin payments made to Tesla would be held as Bitcoin, not converted into fiat.