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Last week, Gold claimed the spotlight as risk appetite faded. NDX (+2.5%) bounced off lows even as banking stress and a government shutdown kept sentiment fragile, while BTC (-5.6%) weakened, Gold (+4.4%) hit new highs, and the DXY (-0.4%) softened.

U.S. yields fell as investors piled into Treasuries after Powell’s comments on a cooling labour market. Volatility spiked, with BVIV, EVIV, and the VIX surging amid broad hedging and tightening liquidity. The herd’s back to gold and traders are once again seeking shelter.

Across crypto, last week saw one of the sharpest and most uniform selloffs on record as liquidations hit long-tail assets hardest. The rise of perpetual DEXs lets traders lever assets that once lacked access, making drawdowns sharper when positions unwind.

LPs struggled to move inventory across exchanges, leaving thinner books and wider spreads. With too many tokens and less capital, selectivity is now critical. The bid for altcoins will likely stay weak until new retail flows return, keeping a broad recovery out of reach for now.

Lending rates softened across DeFi this week, with USDC and USDT APYs slipping to ~3.8% as risk appetite stayed muted post-crash. ETH borrowing rates crept higher, up 3.5% WoW, amid a 16% supply contraction, hinting at selective re-entry into leverage.

RWAs stayed the week’s quiet winners, with Paxos up 10% and Centrifuge up 6%, capturing risk-off inflows into tokenised treasuries and private credit. Liquidity didn’t leave crypto, it moved up the quality curve from speculative perps to institutional-grade DeFi.

Open interest across majors collapsed ~25% last week to 3-month lows after the October 10th flash crash triggered ~$19b in liquidations across perps. BTC OI fell ~23%, ETH ~24%, and SOL ~37% as leverage flushed and funding turned negative.

Onchain derivatives surged, with Hyperliquid recording $120b+ in weekly perp volume, its highest ever, even as $10b in OI vanished and $720m net flowed out. Crucially, Hyperliquid stayed fully operational, unlike several CEXs that suffered pricing wicks and trade reversals.