• Bitcoin rockets past $116K as Uptober rallies the market.

• UK wants to keep $7B in seized BTC, victims may get shortchanged.

• Lighter zk-rollup perps go live, zero fees for retail + points hype.

• US shutdown delays crypto ETFs but lawmakers still push ahead.

• VanEck files for Lido stETH ETF, pushing ETH staking to institutions.

Bitcoin just smashed $116K, sending the crypto market cap over $4 trillion. Why? Strong ETF inflows, a dovish Fed, and the legendary Q4 “Uptober” trend 🍂.
$60M shorts got liquidated, BTC dominance is climbing back to 59%, and options data shows traders ditching downside protection. Historically, Q4 gives Bitcoin a +50% median gain. Some analysts now see $125K+ by year-end. Hodl tight fam. 🚀

The UK government wants to keep most of the 61,000 BTC ($7B) seized from Zhimin Qian’s 2018 fraud. The twist? 120,000 victims are demanding their money back. But courts may only pay them in fiat at 2018 prices, leaving the state with billions in BTC gains. 🏛
Treasury insiders are even considering using this Bitcoin haul to plug a £34B–£67B budget hole. The High Court showdown starts in January. Question is: will the UK hodl or dump? 👀

Say gm to Lighter, the new Ethereum-settled zk-rollup perp DEX, now live on public mainnet 🌐.
Unlike Hyperliquid (L1) or Aster (BNB Chain), Lighter locks user funds on Ethereum and verifies trades/liquidations with zk proofs. Traders get CEX-level speed with Ethereum-grade security.
Retail traders = zero fees, HFT/APIs get charged. Oh, and Season 2 of their points program just dropped 👀… yes, people are already whispering token airdrop.

“Across the pond in the U.S., the government shutdown has put the brakes on SEC activity — which means spot Bitcoin and crypto ETF approvals are delayed. ETF issuers who were hoping for early October approvals are now stuck in limbo. But it’s not all bad news: the Senate Banking Committee is pushing ahead with a crypto market structure bill, and the Senate Finance Committee is still debating crypto taxes. Stablecoin yield rules? Still a battleground between banks and exchanges.”

VanEck has filed its Lido Staked Ethereum ETF in Delaware. If approved, this would let institutions earn ETH staking rewards without touching blockchain ops. Basically, Wall Street can now “stake without staking.” 🤑
The filing pumped LDO token +7%, as VanEck looks to outpace rivals like BlackRock and Fidelity in the yield-bearing crypto products race. With ETH staking demand climbing, this could be huge for mainstream adoption.

Alright, that’s a wrap for this week's edition of The Web3 Watch! 🚀
See you all next week!