Smart traders are buying ahead of Trump–Xi meeting

Digital assets pushed higher Friday after the White House said Trump will meet Xi on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of the APEC leaders’ summit in South Korea.

For crypto traders, that reads like a potential reset after weeks of tariff brinkmanship and fresh export controls, the kind of macro overhang that tends to sap liquidity, juice the dollar and weigh on risk.

At press time, the global crypto market capitalization stood at roughly $3.84 trillion, up about 1.4% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin was changing hands at around $111,400, while Ether followed at nearly $3,960.

Solana extended its rally to trade close to $193, pushing its weekly gains toward double digits. Bitcoin’s share of the market. or dominance, held just below 58%.

Related: What is Crypto? Cryptocurrency explained

Smart traders quietly pile ahead of Trump–Xi meeting

Blockchain data is lighting up with signs of conviction from high-performing traders. On-chain sleuths at Lookonchain flagged wallet 0xc2a3 — a so-called “smart trader” with a 100% win rate — who has ramped up his bullish bets across majors.

According to data, the trader boosted his Ether long position to 33,270 ETH ($131 million) and opened a fresh 4x long on 80 BTC ($8.9 million). His total realized profit now exceeds $15.4 million, with a streak of profitable trades that has yet to break.In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays a Truth Social post by U.S. President Donald Trump announcing the signing of an executive order to extend the tariff suspension on China for another 90 days, stating that all other elements of the agreement will remain unchanged, with the flags of the United States and China visible in the background, on August 12, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

For context, crypto behaves like a high-beta macro asset when the story is about global growth and dollar liquidity. If trade tensions cool, investors typically rotate into cyclicals and risk, the dollar eases, and funding conditions improve, all positives for BTC and ETH.

A face-to-face between Trump and Xi doesn’t guarantee a deal, but it signals intent to dial down the heat.

Even a narrow agreement (extend the current detente, pause new tariffs, sketch a roadmap) can keep the “risk-on” door open.

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How we got to a market-moving meeting

A quick timeline to make sense of the move:

Earlier this month, Beijing widened restrictions on rare-earth minerals and related technologies, a pressure lever in a long-running tech and supply-chain contest. Washington responded by floating additional 100% tariffs if talks failed to progress. Markets hate binary tail risks; crypto sold off alongside equities as that probability rose. Economic teams penciled in more contact ahead of APEC, and now the leaders’ meeting is on the calendar. That alone trims left-tail scenarios and invites dip-buyers back into crypto.

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What matters from the meeting (for crypto)

Tariff freeze or extension of the truce. Even a temporary extension reduces uncertainty, calms the dollar and supports risk. Softer language around advanced chips, software, or rare-earths would ease supply-chain anxiety that bleeds into broader markets. More predictable cross-border flows lift global growth expectations — again, friendly to risk.

If talks stall or rhetoric hardens, expect the opposite, the dollar firming, vol picking up, and leverage coming out of the system.

Traders tiptoe back into Bitcoin longs as open interest climbs 3%

Bitcoin traders are slowly wading back into the market, data from derivatives analytics platform Coinglass shows. Open interest, the total value of outstanding futures and perpetual contracts — climbed more than 3% in the past 24 hours, topping $154.9 billion, its highest level in weeks.

That means traders are opening new positions again — a sign of fresh capital returning after a week of macro jitters and tariff-driven headlines.

When open interest rises alongside a mild uptick in prices, it usually points to confidence creeping back into the market. It suggests traders are adding exposure, not just squaring off old bets.

Indeed, liquidations across the market fell more than 56% over the same period, dropping to just $225 million.

But dig a little deeper, and you see where the conviction is hiding. On Binance, the world’s largest exchange, top traders’ accounts are net long by 1.74x. At OKX, the ratio is 1.4x. That shows professional or high-volume traders leaning bullish, even as retail users stay more cautious.

Solana’s side story

Keep an eye on Solana (SOL) into Solana Breakpoint (Dec. 11–13, Abu Dhabi).

It’s the network’s biggest developer conference and a reliable catalyst for ecosystem news — new products, partnerships, and roadmap updates.

Related: What are tokenized stocks? Explained

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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