⚡Gold Just Made History. Again.

For the first time since 1789, gold’s worth over $30 trillion — as traders flee stocks, banks crumble, and crypto joins the rush through tokenized gold. BlackRock rebuilds its stablecoin engine, Florida wants a Bitcoin reserve, and even DeFi’s buying bars.

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Cryptopolitan News
October 17, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Gold just made history.

Spot prices on Thursday ripped to over $4,300/oz for the first time ever driving gold’s total market cap above $30 trillion at a level not seen since 1789. December futures in the U.S. settled $4,328.70 to close off the breakout that had been brewing for months.

The gain occurred as tensions between the United States and China worsened, and traders positioned themselves for a potential interest rate cut this month by the Fed. As regional banks teetered and equity markets wobbled, investors rushed for the oldest hedge on Earth, gold.

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The market is jumpy about credit losses and geopolitical shocks, investors are running to what they have faith in.

said Jed Ellerbroek, of Argent Capital.

Stocks cratered in unison: the Dow tumbled 301 points, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, and regional banks including Zions and Western Alliance cratered more than 10% following new loan defaults. Throw in Trump’s renewed tariff threats and rare earth tensions with China, and the panic playbook was written. The VIX rose to its highest level since May, and Treasury yields and the dollar were both lower.

Meanwhile, Bank of America sees gold averaging $4,400 through 2026 and potentially rising to $5,000–$6,000 if investor demand surges an additional 28%.

🪙 Tokenized Gold gets in on the rally

Not even crypto could resist the shine. Pax Gold (PAXG), a token representing physical gold, traded for more than $4,407, at a premium to spot prices. Similar to Binance, short lived flash bids lifted it around $4,790 as on-chain capital rotated from Bitcoin and into a safer yet yieldless havens.

PAXG recorded record daily volumes of $854 million, also an all time high, with the aggregate tokenized gold assets now at $3.39 billion. Traders say the rally represented a scramble to deposit profits from volatile crypto assets into something tangible, albeit still on-chain.

This is not simply a gold rush, it’s a trust migration, investors want assets that feel real, even if they’re living on Ethereum.

Tether’s XAUT is the largest gold-backed token, with trades going for around $4,373, though PAXG surpassed it briefly for liquidity following short squeezes led by Binance. Both tokens underscore an emerging synthesis between physical assets and blockchain markets, the intersection where fear intercepts innovation.

Gold’s recent run has gone far beyond commodities.

It’s a global sentiment gauge, a digital safe haven and a reminder that when the world panics, even DeFi starts buying bars.

📊 Market Watch

🪙 BlackRock rebuilds its Stablecoin engine

BlackRock may be turning its Select Treasury-Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL) into the safe haven for stablecoin reserves under the recently proposed GENIUS Act. The overhauled platform includes greater emphasis on short-term Treasuries, introduces overnight repos and longer trading hours to enhance liquidity for Circle and other issuers.

🇺🇸 Florida eyes a state Bitcoin reserve

Florida lawmakers are looking to get the State investing in the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency. House Bill 183 in Florida would make up to 10% of state funds held in a ‘reserve’ investment fund available to cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. If it passes, the bill would be one of the first in any state in the country to hold Bitcoin as a treasury reserve, following sovereign wealth fund strategies.

👀 JPMorgan says crypto natives are to blame for the Crash

The newest $20 billion wipeout of liquidations wasn’t dictated by ETFs or institutions, it was led by crypto natives, according to JPMorgan. Analysts said open interest in perpetual futures plummeted 40%, resulting in widespread deleveraging on offshore exchanges. By comparison, spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows of 0.14%, as traditional investors stayed cool while local traders set off the landslide.

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💡Community Spotlight

A Dubai investor just pulled off the ultimate crypto flex: buying real estate entirely with a crypto card and saving 2%.

When the developer said “bank transfer only,” he asked if they’d take crypto. They agreed, with a 1% fee. Instead, he spotted a credit card option, loaded up his ether.fi cash card, and paid directly in AED.

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