US CPI exceeds forecasts as Across protocol restores its hijacked site and Multicoin outlines DeFi's AI-era moats; today’s BTC price is near $73.3K amid Fear sentiment. The cryptocurrency market extended its decline as Bitcoin (BTC) remained under pressure following higher-than-expected US inflation data. BTC fell to around $73.3K during Asian trading hours, while Ethereum (ETH) hovered near $2,050. Neither asset had fully recovered from the previous session's losses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 0.4% month-on-month increase in the October Consumer Price Index (CPI), exceeding market expectations of 0.3%. The stronger-than-expected inflation reading prompted investors to reassess the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. Goldman Sachs subsequently revised its policy expectations and projected another 25-basis-point rate hike in March 2027, following a potential increase in December. US stocks closed lower amid persistent inflation concerns and uncertainty surrounding the technology sector. NVIDIA also drew attention after its board launched an independent investigation into matters involving CEO Jensen Huang. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose for a third consecutive trading session. This highlighted a divergence between Japanese AI-related stocks and the broader US equity market. In the crypto sector, cross-chain bridge Across Protocol regained control of its website after attackers hijacked its domain and redirected users to a phishing site. The incident renewed concerns about the security of Web3 front-end services. Multicoin Capital also published research identifying distribution, capital, and proprietary data as three key competitive advantages for DeFi protocols in the AI era. Market sentiment remained cautious, with the Fear and Greed Index falling from 32 yesterday to 29 today, indicating Fear. Investors continued to monitor inflation, interest rate expectations, and volatility across risk assets.

Source: Alternative

Key News Highlights:

US October CPI Exceeds Expectations as Bitcoin Approaches 11-Week Low

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, showing that consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month in October. The figure exceeded market expectations of 0.3% and indicated that inflationary pressures in the US had not fully eased. Although the increase was lower than September's 0.6%, inflation continued to exceed forecasts and renewed investors' attention on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook. According to the official report, shelter costs increased 0.3% and accounted for more than 30% of the overall monthly CPI increase. Food prices rose 0.5%, with food at home and food away from home increasing 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, monthly energy price growth slowed significantly from 5.2% in September to 0.7% in October. However, other living expenses continued to contribute to overall inflationary pressures. The report did not include a directly comparable year-on-year CPI figure because complete price data had not been collected during the 2025 US government shutdown. Following the inflation report, BTC briefly fell to $73,518 during US trading hours and approached its lowest level since August 21. The cryptocurrency subsequently recovered above $74K for a short period. US equities also came under pressure as technology stocks and major market indexes declined following the release. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller had previously expressed support for a 25-basis-point rate hike in December despite the slowdown in inflation from September. He also acknowledged the possibility of a larger increase if inflation significantly exceeded expectations. According to changes in CME FedWatch rate probabilities, markets began pricing in a greater likelihood of a larger rate hike following the report. Goldman Sachs also revised its interest rate outlook on November 11. The bank projected another 25-basis-point increase in March 2027 and pushed back its forecast for the first rate cut to December 2027.

Across Protocol Restores Website After Domain Hijacking Attack

Cross-chain bridge Across Protocol recently announced that it had regained control of its official website, across.to, and restored normal operations following a domain hijacking incident the previous day. According to the Across team, attackers used social engineering tactics to compromise domain registrar Namecheap and gain control of the project's domain. They subsequently redirected visitors from the legitimate website to a fraudulent phishing page. The incident occurred at approximately 18:45 UTC on November 10. The team reported receiving a security alert within about 15 minutes and immediately began taking measures to shut down the compromised website. Some users may have accessed the malicious page before the domain was fully blocked, and reports subsequently emerged of funds being drained from cryptocurrency wallets. Web3 security response organization SEAL911 helped flag the affected domain as a phishing site to alert major cryptocurrency wallet providers and their users. Cloudflare also marked the domain as high-risk and later removed the associated DNS records to prevent further access to the malicious website. The Across team confirmed that third-party integrations and API users were unaffected by the incident. The security breach primarily involved the compromised official website and its front-end access point. With assistance from Namecheap founder Richard Kirkendall, the team subsequently regained control of the domain and confirmed that all systems had returned to normal operation. Across also pledged to fully compensate affected users and announced plans to publish a detailed post-incident report. However, the total number of affected users and the value of assets lost had not been disclosed at the time of the announcement. According to DefiLlama data, Across processed approximately USD 5.9 billion in cross-chain transfers during the 30 days preceding the incident, making it one of the more actively used cross-chain bridge protocols.

Multicoin Identifies Three Key DeFi Moats in the AI Era

Multicoin Capital published a research article examining how decentralized finance protocols can establish sustainable competitive advantages as artificial intelligence development tools become more widely adopted. The research also explored how different types of financial services may capture economic value in an increasingly AI-driven environment. According to the report, AI has significantly lowered the development barriers for trading, lending, and other financial applications. Development teams can now build software systems with fewer resources and in less time than previously required. However, lower costs for code and technical tools do not mean that customer relationships, liquidity capital, and risk management capabilities can be replicated just as easily. The research identified three primary competitive moats for DeFi protocols: distribution, capital, and proprietary data. The first moat is distribution, which refers to a platform's ability to maintain customer relationships and control the flow of trading orders and assets rather than simply providing a trading interface. The second moat is capital, which includes the resources needed to provide market liquidity, support financing across different markets, and absorb losses arising from liquidations or bad debt. The third moat is proprietary data, particularly non-public information related to traditional credit, insurance, and real-world assets (RWAs). Such information can help assess financial risks that may not be fully reflected in publicly available on-chain data. As cross-chain interoperability improves and financial software becomes less expensive to develop, some infrastructure protocols may face challenges to their existing technological and ecosystem advantages. The research also identified a willingness to assume risk as a potential entry point for startups seeking to serve underserved markets. However, risk tolerance alone does not constitute a sustainable competitive moat. Overall, the study examined how customer relationships, capital allocation, and information advantages influence financial services. It also outlined the potential implications of AI adoption for DeFi business models and the distribution of economic value.

NVIDIA Hires Former Federal Prosecutor for Independent Investigation Into Jensen Huang

NVIDIA's independent directors issued an official statement confirming that they had retained Joon H. Kim, the former Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a comprehensive independent investigation into matters involving CEO Jensen Huang. The investigation followed earlier media reports suggesting that Huang may have been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. These reports raised concerns about corporate information security and potential implications for US national security. NVIDIA's board had announced the launch of the investigation on November 8 and established a committee of independent directors to oversee the process with assistance from external legal counsel. In its initial statement, the board indicated that it had no reason to believe US national security or NVIDIA's confidential corporate information had been compromised. Nevertheless, the investigation would review all available information related to the matter. Huang expressed support for the board's review and committed to cooperating fully with the investigation. Kim previously served as Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2017 to 2018 and has extensive experience handling major federal investigations and complex legal matters. His appointment brings additional legal expertise and federal prosecutorial experience to the independent review. As the investigation continued to attract market attention, NVIDIA shares experienced notable declines in recent trading sessions. US technology stocks also faced broader pressure from inflation concerns and uncertainty surrounding industry regulation. NVIDIA's board reaffirmed its confidence in Huang and the company's management team and stated that further updates would be provided as appropriate. No final investigative findings had been released at the time of the announcement.

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