Washington pushes back against Beijing

Top US officials have accused Beijing of attempting to weaponize its dominance in the global rare earths supply chain, which accounts for about 70 percent of global production and more than 90 percent of processing capacity.

At a press briefing on Wednesday (October 15), US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called China’s new measures a “global supply chain power grab” and warned that Washington and its allies “would not accept the restrictions.”

However, he also said China has not yet implemented the full regulatory system and suggested there is still room to de-escalate. “These are drafted, or in draft, so it’s quite real,” Greer said.

“But our expectation is that they won’t implement this, and that we’ll be able to be back to where we were a week ago, where we had the tariff levels we’ve agreed to and the flow of rare earths that we agreed to.”

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent echoed the sentiment, telling CNBC that the Trump administration does not want to further inflame tensions, but will act decisively if Beijing moves forward with its restrictions.

“When we get an announcement like this week with China on the rare earths, you realize we have to be self-sufficient, or we have to be sufficient with our allies,” Bessent said.

He also accused China of using its dominance in rare earths refining and processing to slash prices and drive foreign competitors out of the market. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods starting on November 1 — or sooner — if Beijing moves ahead with the export controls.

Despite the mounting friction, both sides remain committed to a scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea later this month, highlighting the indispensable nature of rare earths to modern industry.

They are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones and, crucially, in US military systems such as F-35 fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles and Predator drones. Each F-35 is estimated to require more than 400 kilograms of rare earths for its stealth coatings, motors and radar systems.

US eyes new critical minerals sources

In response to China’s dominance, Washington has ramped up efforts to secure alternative sources of critical minerals.

The Department of Defense earlier this year struck a deal with MP Materials (NYSE:MP), the largest US rare earths producer. It includes an equity stake, a price floor and an offtake deal to guarantee supply for defense applications.

Separately, the Trump administration is reportedly exploring a potential investment in Critical Metals (NASDAQ:CRML), a US-listed firm developing Greenland’s vast Tanbreez rare earths deposit.

Bitcoin and Ether price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$106,495, a 1.7 percent decrease in 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$104,747, and its highest was US$107,411.

Bitcoin price performance, October 17, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

The Bitcoin price remains under pressure. While sizable short liquidations of both Bitcoin and Ether have provided pockets of buying relief, overall market confidence is tempered. Volatility persists, leaving the market poised for further directional cues from key upcoming earnings and economic data releases.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$3,830.31, a 1.2 percent decrease in 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$3,726.31, and its highest was US$3,845.65.

Altcoin price update

• Solana (SOL) was priced at US$181.98, a decrease of 2.1 percent over the last 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$177.43, and its highest was US$184.74.

• XRP was trading for US$2.30, a decrease of 1.4 percent over the last 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$2.25 and its highest was US$2.31.

Crypto derivatives and market indicators

Bitcoin derivatives metrics indicate a complex market environment with mixed signals.

While short-term buying pressure has occurred, underlying market sentiment remains bearish or neutral, with cautious trading behavior and no strong bullish conviction at this time.

Bitcoin liquidations have totaled approximately US$22.09 million in the last four hours, with short positions making up the majority, signaling a short squeeze or bullish pressure. Ether liquidations show a similar pattern, totaling US$20.86 million, the majority of which were short positions.

Futures open interest for Bitcoin has decreased by 1.56 percent to around US$70 billion, showing strong bearish sentiment. Ether futures open interest was unchanged at around US$44 billion, reflecting market neutrality.

The perpetual funding rate for Bitcoin was -0.009, and for Ether it was -0.015, indicating bearish market sentiment.

Bitcoin’s relative strength index stands at 34.05, indicating that the cryptocurrency is in a bearish/bullish/neutral momentum, phase but not yet deeply oversold.

Fear and Greed Index snapshot

CMC’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen far into fear territory, dipping to 28 on Friday from an earlier score of 32.

CMC Crypto Fear and Greed Index, Bitcoin price and Bitcoin volume.

Chart via CoinMarketCap.

Today’s crypto news to know

Japanese banks launch yen-backed stablecoin

A group of Japan’s largest banks, including MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank, are reportedly collaborating to launch a yen-backed stablecoin using MUFG’s Progmat platform.

The initiative aims to create an interoperable payment token for over 300,000 corporate clients. MUFG will be the first user for internal settlements. The stablecoin is expected to roll out by year end, potentially establishing Japan’s first unified bank-backed stablecoin network and accelerating crypto adoption in the region’s financial infrastructure.

Uniswap expands to Solana blockchain

Uniswap has expanded its web app to support the Solana blockchain, enabling users to trade Solana-based tokens, the platform announced in a blog post on Wednesday (October 15). This move broadens Uniswap’s reach beyond Ether, lowering transaction costs and speed for DeFi traders using Solana’s high-performance network.

Ripple adds US$1 billion to XRP treasury

Ripple will reportedly add a US$1 billion purchase of its native XRP cryptocurrency to its digital asset treasury.

Sources for Bloomberg said the treasury funds, which will be raised through a special purpose acquisition company, will be used to support Ripple’s ecosystem development, liquidity provision and strategic partnerships, reinforcing Ripple’s commitment to growing XRP’s adoption in global payments.