Published Oct 23, 2026
HSBC launches HKD stablecoin RedCoin as Bitcoin steadies above $81K and PEPE surges 10%
- hsbc-redcoin
- hkd-stablecoin
- ethereum-glamsterdam
- south-korea-stablecoin-regulation
- fireblocks-visa
- pepe-meme-coin
60-second read
The day's biggest story came from traditional finance: HSBC rolled out RedCoin, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, to more than 3 million retail customers — the most significant bank-issued stablecoin launch to date. Bitcoin held relatively steady, dipping less than half a percent to around $81,500 as the prior session's AI-sector selloff faded. Altcoins staged a partial recovery, with meme coins leading the way; PEPE jumped nearly 10% while most large-caps posted small losses.
What Moved — Top 15
| Asset | Price | 24h | Mkt Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
BTC Bitcoin | $81.53K | -0.5% | $1.64T |
ETH Ethereum | $2.39K | -0.3% | $292.35B |
USDTstable Tether | $1.00 | -0.0% | $182.54B |
BNB BNB | $744.34 | +1.5% | $97.88B |
XRP XRP | $1.32 | -0.9% | $83.09B |
USDCstable USDC | $1.00 | -0.0% | $72.00B |
SOL Solana | $103.88 | -0.6% | $61.25B |
TRX TRON | $0.33 | -0.1% | $31.36B |
FIGR_HELOC Figure Heloc | $1.03 | +0.0% | $26.17B |
ZEC Zcash | $1.21K | -3.4% | $20.57B |
HYPE Hyperliquid | $77.57 | -1.1% | $17.26B |
DOGE Dogecoin | $0.08 | +0.6% | $12.47B |
XMR Monero | $606.93 | -5.7% | $11.42B |
USDSstable USDS | $1.00 | -0.0% | $10.08B |
WBT WhiteBIT Coin | $79.13 | -0.4% | $9.40B |
Winners
- PEPE+9.6%/ +$0.00
PEPE surged as risk appetite returned to the lower-cap speculative segment of the market following the prior day's equity-driven selloff, with Bitcoin stabilizing above $81,000 giving traders confidence to reach for higher-risk assets.
Losers
- QNT-6.9%/ -$12.47
No specific catalyst was identified for Quant's decline; the drop likely reflects continued altcoin weakness and residual pressure from the tech stock selloff spilling into crypto.
Why it moved
The session was shaped by two forces pulling in opposite directions. On the macro side, the previous day's sharp selloff in AI and tech stocks — which had dragged crypto lower alongside equities — began to fade, removing the immediate pressure on Bitcoin. BTC found its footing above $81,000 and barely moved, ending the day down 0.45%. That stabilization was enough to bring risk appetite back to the smaller end of the market: meme coins and lower-cap altcoins attracted fresh capital as traders who had pulled back during the equity rout returned. PEPE was the clearest beneficiary, climbing nearly 10% as speculative interest concentrated in assets that had sold off hardest the day before. The broader top-15 picture was mostly red but quietly so. Ethereum slipped 0.34%, Solana fell 0.57%, and XRP dropped 0.89% — none of these moves suggest a new leg lower, just residual softness. Monero was the notable exception among large tracked assets, falling 5.74%, though no specific news drove that move. Zcash also dropped 3.39%. BNB bucked the trend with a 1.53% gain, the strongest performance among the top-10 assets. The Fear & Greed index sits at exactly 50 — neutral — which matches the day's tone: not a recovery, not a continuation of the selloff, just a market catching its breath. The bigger story today was not price action at all but HSBC's RedCoin launch, which represents the most significant entry by a global bank into the retail stablecoin market.
Worth knowing
- –HSBC launched RedCoin, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, to more than 3 million retail customers — the first retail stablecoin issued by a major global bank.
- –Ethereum developers postponed a testnet deployment of the Glamsterdam upgrade after security researchers flagged potential risks to existing smart contracts, adding uncertainty to ETH's near-term development timeline.
- –South Korea is moving to amend its foreign exchange law to regulate stablecoins as payment instruments, a significant policy shift in one of crypto's largest retail markets.
- –Crypto custody firm Fireblocks denied a report that Visa was in acquisition talks to buy it for approximately $2.5 billion.
Market snapshot
Total market cap
$2.72T
Fear & Greed
50 / 100
BTC dominance
60.0%
ETH dominance
10.7%
For deeper context, see this week's Crypto Pulse
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