October is coming to an end: what has “Uptober” meant for Bitcoin? And what does the recent election result mean for the future of crypto in the Netherlands? We‘ll also take a closer look at Solana‘s upcoming network upgrade — Alpenglow.

How did Uptober go?

It‘s been a turbulent few weeks for Bitcoin. On October 6, the coin reached a new all-time high of over $126,000, but just four days later, on October 10, the entire market collapsed. Many pointed to a post by Donald Trump on X (formerly Twitter) — announcing 100% import tariffs on China — as the main trigger of the crash. However, there were far more factors at play, and Trump‘s announcement was only a small part of a much bigger picture.

Why Bitcoin Really Crashed

Shortly after Trump‘s tariff announcement, the crypto market plummeted. Bitcoin fell by more than 10% to around $104,000, while Ethereum and other major altcoins lost tens of percent within hours. Over 1.6 million trading positions were liquidated, mostly from investors who had bet on rising prices.

What stood out that day was that an anonymous trader on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid opened enormous short positions — worth over $1 billion — roughly thirty minutes before the announcement. When the market crashed, this trader closed their positions exactly at the bottom, realizing an estimated profit of around $200 million. The timing was so precise that analysts suspect the use of automated trading systems or even potential insider knowledge.

The panic was further amplified by an error in Binance‘s collateral system. Instead of relying on external price feeds, the platform briefly used only its own internal data, causing the value of collateral assets to drop rapidly. This led to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional liquidations, triggering a domino effect that spread across other major exchanges.

Some altcoins lost up to 70% of their value within hours. Binance later acknowledged “platform issues” and compensated affected users. The takeaway: the crash of October 11 was far from an ordinary correction — it was the result of a rare combination of algorithmic trading, technical failures, and sheer panic.

Uptober Feels Far Away

Since that sharp correction, Bitcoin has struggled to regain its earlier highs, despite a brief recovery. After peaking above $126,000 on October 6, the price dropped quickly to around $104,000, marking a loss of more than 15%. Now Bitcoin looks set to end the month in the red. As of now, the Bitcoin price is down around 1% compared to 30 days ago. The market remains highly volatile, and sentiment can shift at any moment.

Elections in the Netherlands: Future of crypto

With D66‘s recent victory in the Dutch elections, the political landscape is shifting toward a more pro-European and innovation-driven direction. This could have important implications for the crypto industry. D66 has long emphasized the importance of digital innovation, transparency, and European cooperation in financial technology. That stance suggests the Netherlands may continue to play an active role in shaping the future of crypto regulation under MiCAR and the broader digital asset economy in Europe.

Although crypto itself was not a central election topic, the success of a party that supports technological development sends a positive signal for the sector. The Netherlands has built a strong reputation as a well-regulated yet forward-thinking market — strict on compliance, but open to innovation. Under a D66-influenced coalition, that balance is likely to remain: clear rules combined with room to experiment with blockchain use cases, tokenization, and digital finance.

At the same time, the focus on consumer protection and transparency will likely remain strong. The Netherlands is expected to align even more closely with the European MiCAR framework, giving crypto service providers under AFM and DNB supervision more clarity about what is and isn‘t allowed. For exchanges, custody providers, and fintech startups, this could create a more predictable and stable regulatory environment, fostering long-term growth across the European market.

For investors and companies, this political outcome mainly means stability and continuity. In a time when some European countries are still debating how to balance innovation with oversight, the Netherlands could become an example of how crypto regulation and market growth can go hand in hand. If the new coalition follows through on its commitment to technological progress, the future of crypto in the Netherlands looks more promising than uncertain.

Solana's new Upgrade: Alpenglow

Solana is set to roll out its latest upgrade: Alpenglow. This represents the most significant protocol change since the network‘s launch. The upgrade focuses on enhancing speed, scalability, and decentralisation, with the aim of making Solana suitable for real-time applications such as DeFi, gaming, and financial markets.

Alpenglow replaces the existing consensus mechanisms, Proof-of-History (PoH) and Tower BFT, with two new components: Votor and Rotor. These systems enable the network to finalise blocks within 100–150 milliseconds, representing a 100-fold improvement compared with the current 12.8 seconds. Additionally, Alpenglow introduces a new economic model with Validator Admission Tickets (VATs), simplifying validator onboarding and reducing operational costs.

Technical improvements

The upgrade employs a “20 20” resilience model, meaning the network can withstand the failure of 20% of validators as well as 20% behaving maliciously. This increases robustness without compromising decentralisation. Furthermore, validator voting is conducted off-chain, which improves bandwidth efficiency and reduces overhead.

Current status and roadmap

Alpenglow has been approved by 98% of validators and is currently in the public testnet phase. Mainnet deployment is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The upgrade will also integrate the Firedancer validator client, which supports throughput of over one million transactions per second and contributes to overall network stability.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult a professional advisor before making investment decisions.