Bitcoin's 9-day ETF inflow streak snaps as bond yields hold firm and a MetaMask security incident rattles Ethereum staking

Two forces collided on October 1 and neither resolved cleanly. First, a softer-than-expected PCE inflation reading — the Fed's preferred gauge — briefly pushed Bitcoin to $85,500 as traders priced in a slightly friendlier rate environment. That pop lasted hours. Bond yields, which have a direct bearing on how attractive risk assets look relative to safer alternatives, refused to fall in response, and Bitcoin gave back the gains to close at $83,889, down 1.15%. The second force was the end of a nine-day Bitcoin ETF inflow streak. Over that stretch, institutional funds had absorbed roughly $3 billion in net new capital — a sustained run that had provided a floor under prices. On October 1, that flipped: $149 million exited the funds in a single session. One day of outflows does not erase the trend, and Citigroup chose the same day to raise its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $113,000, citing renewed institutional demand as the structural driver. But the short-term signal was clear: the buying pressure that had supported prices through September paused at the start of Q4. Solana fell 3.07% and Zcash dropped 3.33%, both underperforming Bitcoin on a day when risk appetite was already thin. Hyperliquid was the notable exception in the top 15, rising 3.29% with no obvious macro catalyst — likely a product of its own trading activity on the Hyperliquid perpetuals platform.

• –A MetaMask infrastructure security incident forced validator exits from Lido Finance, Ethereum's largest liquid staking protocol — no user funds were lost, but affected validators forfeited staking rewards during the exit window.
• –Citigroup raised its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $113,000, citing the resumption of institutional ETF inflows as the primary demand driver — the upgrade landed on the same day those inflows turned negative.
• –Lloyds Bank and Visa completed a live cross-border settlement of $750,000 using USDC, one of the first public demonstrations of a major traditional bank using stablecoin rails for real transactions.