Cryptocurrencies surge after US-China trade deal

The cryptocurrency market surged over the weekend following comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who announced that the U.S. and China had agreed on a positive framework for an agreement on rare earth minerals export controls and the avoidance of threatened 100% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Bitcoin has gained more than 3% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $115,300. Ethereum is up 5%, and Solana is up 3%. Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on Thursday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

Apart from geopolitics, investors will be focused on Wednesday's decision Fed on interest rates and Chairman Powell's press conference, which will take place immediately after its announcement. Weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data last week increased investor optimism about the possibility of further interest rate cuts at Wednesday's meeting and at the meeting on December 10. According to CME FedWatch, the probability of a 25 basis point cut at these meetings is now 97% and 96%, respectively. Implementation of the cuts and Chairman Powell's hawkish tone could drive the market higher.

ZCash is getting more expensive

ZCash ($ZEC) continues to rally, up 48% in the last 7 days to its highest price since May 2021, driven by investor expectations of reduced selling pressure from miners ahead of the upcoming halving in November, as well as continued demand for privacy coins.

In just over a month, the price has surged nearly 1000%, from $33 to just over $350 today. With institutional investors gaining exposure to this digital asset, including through funds like the Grayscale ZEC Trust, the remarkable price gains could continue, especially if geopolitical tensions subside and global financial conditions continue to ease.

Hong Kong regulator approves first spot ETF for Solana

The Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission (SFC) last week approved the region's first spot ETF to Solana, going beyond Bitcoin i Ethereum, further strengthening Hong Kong's position as the leading jurisdiction in Asia for regulated cryptocurrency investment products.

The Solana spot ETF, issued by China Asset Management (ChinaAMC), is scheduled to debut today on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in three currencies: the Hong Kong dollar (3460), the renminbi (83460), and the US dollar (9460). Each unit of the ETF is equivalent to 100 Sol.

While this is an important step for the cryptocurrency sector, investors are more eagerly awaiting the approval of a US spot ETF for Solana, which could attract larger capital inflows due to the size of the US market and the global dominance of the dollar, potentially having a larger positive impact on the price of Solana itself.

One significant development regarding U.S. Solana spot ETF applications is that the SEC recently approved Form 8-A for the 21Shares Solana ETF—one of the main forms used to register securities for listing on an exchange. However, the ongoing government shutdown could delay approval of other necessary documents, such as the S-1 registration.