Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly Report: Fed Rate Hike Bets Intensify as BTC Falls Below $70,000 and ETH Drops Under $2,000

Reporting Period: November 7–13, 2026

Data as of: November 13, 2026

Market Overview: Rising Fed Rate Hike Expectations Push the US Dollar and Treasury Yields Higher, Sending BTC Toward $70,000

Stronger-than-expected US inflation data has intensified concerns about persistent price pressures. A series of hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials subsequently fueled expectations of further monetary tightening, significantly increasing market bets on additional rate hikes. Against this backdrop, the US Dollar Index and Treasury yields moved higher in tandem, making global financial markets increasingly sensitive to interest rate expectations. Gold and silver also came under heavy selling pressure as the stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on precious metals, pushing both to recent lows. These moves reflect growing market uncertainty over the Fed's future policy path and how long restrictive monetary conditions may remain in place.

Shifting monetary policy expectations also put considerable pressure on the cryptocurrency market. As expectations of further Fed rate hikes intensified this week, concerns over tighter financial conditions increased and investor risk appetite weakened. Bitcoin (BTC) remained under pressure, falling below $70,000, while Ethereum (ETH) also slipped back below $2,000. The broader market reaction highlights the continued importance of the US dollar, Treasury yields, and expectations for Federal Reserve policy in shaping the short-term performance of digital assets.

The Bitunix Token Pulse Weekly Report tracks the performance of the top 300 tokens by market capitalization listed on Bitunix, while also monitoring major US stock perpetual contracts. It aims to provide investors with timely market insights and a reference point for trading strategies.

Crypto Market Performance: Broad-Based Pullback Continues, with Median Returns Falling More Than 5%

The cryptocurrency market delivered a broadly weak performance this week. Among the top 300 tokens by market capitalization on Bitunix, only 20% posted gains, while the median weekly return stood at -5.61%. Bitcoin (BTC) fell 6.85% over the past seven days, while Ethereum (ETH) declined 10.42%, slipping below the $2,000 level. ZEC was among the biggest losers, plunging 27.33% and giving back much of its gains since September.

Top Gainers: PIEVERSE Extends Its Rally with Another Nearly 30% Weekly Gain

PIEVERSE continued its strong performance from the previous week, rising 29.05% over the past seven days to lead the market. With no clear dominant narrative driving the broader market, the AI Agent sector was one of the few areas to show notable strength. ETHFI, NIGHT, and KITE also gained more than 10% this week, outperforming the broader market.

Top Weekly Gainers

Source: Bitunix. Note: Prices and percentage changes were recorded at 1:00 a.m. UTC.

Top Losers: Bitcoin Ecosystem Tokens See Sharp Corrections as Ethereum DeFi Remains Under Pressure

Several tokens across the Bitcoin ecosystem suffered steep losses this week. ZEC and BCH, both Bitcoin fork projects, fell 27.33% and 19.11%, respectively, over the past seven days. STX, a prominent project in the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem, also declined by more than 17%. The Ethereum ecosystem also remained under pressure, with several DeFi tokens, including UNI, AAVE, and ENA, posting losses of more than 10%. Overall, investor sentiment toward both ecosystems remained cautious amid the broader market downturn.

Top Weekly Losers

Source: Bitunix. Note: Prices and percentage changes were recorded at 1:00 a.m. UTC.

Token Spotlight: PIEVERSE — A Web3 Protocol Built Around AI Agents and Verifiable Payment Infrastructure

PIEVERSE is the native token of Pieverse, a Web3 payment infrastructure project developing an agent-native payment network for human users, AI agents, and machine-to-machine transactions. The project aims to address several limitations of traditional blockchain transactions, particularly around payment workflows, transaction records, and compliance auditing.

At the core of Pieverse is x402b, a payment solution built as an extension of the x402 payment protocol. It supports gasless payments through pieUSD, a wrapped stablecoin backed 1:1 by USDT. The protocol also generates on-chain records of transaction invoices, receipts, and payment proofs, with the associated data stored on BNB Greenfield. This approach is designed to improve the transparency, traceability, and verifiability of payment activities.

PIEVERSE Technical Analysis: Nearly 30% Gains Over Two Weeks, with an All-Time High of $2.23

PIEVERSE's latest rally began on November 3, when the token gained more than 20% in a single day. It subsequently maintained a volatile upward trajectory. On November 9, several consecutive strong daily candles drove the price sharply higher, from $1.44 to $2.23 — a gain of approximately 54% over the move.

As the price approached and broke through previous highs, profit-taking pressure became increasingly visible around the $2.20 level. Selling activity picked up, pushing the token into a period of volatile consolidation and correction. PIEVERSE has since retreated to around $1.62. Nevertheless, following its earlier rally, the token remains up nearly 30% over the past two weeks and continues to rank among the market's top performers this week.

Source: Bitunix

Pieverse Fundamentals: Around 3,000 Weekly Active Users, Highlighting the Project's Early Stage of Development

According to CertiK data, Pieverse currently has approximately 3,156 active users over the past seven days, indicating that its overall user base remains relatively small. As a Web3 protocol targeting AI Agent payment use cases, Pieverse recorded approximately 319,700 transactions over the same period, representing a 201% increase from the previous week. This points to a significant pickup in recent on-chain activity.

However, the broader x402 payment ecosystem remains at an early stage in terms of both technological development and commercial adoption, with current daily transaction volume estimated at around $200,000. This highlights several challenges facing the real-world adoption of autonomous payments by AI agents. These include users' concerns about allowing AI agents to access funds and execute payments independently, questions surrounding asset security, and the limited adoption of practical use cases.

Therefore, although Pieverse has recorded rapid growth in on-chain activity recently, it remains to be seen whether this short-term increase in engagement can translate into sustained active user growth and genuine payment demand.

Source: CertiK

Source: Artemis

PIEVERSE On-Chain Activity: 1.45 Million Tokens Transferred from Reward Vault Near the $2.23 Price High

On November 10, Arkham data showed that approximately 1.45 million PIEVERSE tokens, worth around $2.68 million at the time, were transferred from the Reward Vault to the on-chain address 0x5437 after PIEVERSE reached a new all-time high of $2.27.

The timing of the transfer, which occurred while the token was trading near its peak, raised concerns about the potential release of early reward allocations and the possibility of additional selling pressure. As of November 13, the address 0x5437 held more than 10 million PIEVERSE tokens, making it a significant wallet to monitor.

It is worth noting that a transfer from the Reward Vault does not necessarily mean the tokens have already been sold. However, if these tokens subsequently flow into centralized exchanges or are sold in large quantities through decentralized exchanges (DEXs), the resulting increase in circulating supply could put further pressure on the token's short-term price performance.

Source: X

Is PIEVERSE Still Worth Buying?

As a project that completed its Token Generation Event (TGE) in 2025, PIEVERSE requires investors to consider more than just its fundamentals and market momentum when assessing its investment potential. Its upcoming token unlock schedule is another important factor to watch. Notably, more than 80 million PIEVERSE tokens are scheduled to be unlocked on November 16. If a substantial portion of these tokens enters the circulating supply, it could increase short-term selling pressure and weigh on the token's price.

Source: CoinMarketCap

PIEVERSE: Recent Price Performance Summary

PIEVERSE has maintained strong upward momentum over the past two weeks, gaining nearly 30% and reaching a new all-time high of $2.27 on November 9. However, profit-taking pressure subsequently triggered a pullback, bringing the token price down to around $1.62. On the fundamental side, Pieverse recorded a 201% increase in seven-day transaction volume, but its active user base remains relatively small at approximately 3,156, suggesting that the project is still in its early development stage and that its actual payment demand and commercial viability have yet to be fully validated. In addition, the scheduled unlock of more than 80 million PIEVERSE tokens on November 16, combined with large on-chain transfers, could create short-term supply pressure. Investors should closely monitor the unlock event and the subsequent movements of major holders.

Stock Perpetual Contract Performance: US Equities Rebound, with Micron Surging More Than 20%

Large-cap US stocks generally outperformed the cryptocurrency market this week, with semiconductor stocks leading the rebound. Shares of SanDisk (SNDK), Micron Technology (MU), and Intel (INTC) all gained more than 15%, while Micron posted the strongest performance, surging 21.64%. By contrast, crypto-related stocks remained under pressure. Strategy (MSTR) and Circle (CRCL) were weighed down by continued weakness in the cryptocurrency market, falling 11.62% and 8.69%, respectively. Meanwhile, stocks associated with Elon Musk staged a notable recovery, with Tesla (TSLA) rising 15.74% and SpaceX (SPCX) gaining 13.00%.

Featured Stock Contract: Jensen Huang's Sudden Departure as NVIDIA CEO Triggers Sharp Share Price Volatility

On November 12, NVIDIA announced that its founder, Jensen Huang, would step down with immediate effect from his positions as president, CEO, and a member of the board of directors, ending his 33-year tenure at the helm of the company.

The leadership change was linked to recent controversy surrounding Huang's personal relationships and potential conflicts of interest. NVIDIA's board had previously launched an independent investigation into the matter, and the announcement quickly sent shockwaves through the market. CFO Colette Kress is set to serve as interim CEO while the board begins searching for a permanent successor.

Following the announcement, NVIDIA shares plunged more than 14% at one point during the trading session before recovering some losses to close down 4.3% at $166.19.

Source: Bitunix

Commodity Contract Analysis: Broad-Based Sell-Off Sends Gold Below $4,000

Bitunix offers a range of commodity contracts, including gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas, providing users with more opportunities to trade across different asset classes. Commodity markets broadly declined this week, with gold falling below $4,000 and silver retreating toward $50. Meanwhile, despite the impact of an attack on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude did not experience a significant decline and remained around $93.

Source: Bitunix

Macro Catalyst to Watch Next Week: US October Retail Sales

Looking ahead, markets will focus on the US October retail sales report, scheduled for release by the US Census Bureau on November 17. Retail sales are an important measure of US consumer spending, tracking month-over-month changes in sales across the retail and food services sectors. The data also serves as a key indicator of economic growth momentum and consumer confidence.

The latest available figures showed that US retail sales rose 0.8% month over month in September, exceeding the market forecast of 0.3% and indicating continued resilience in consumer spending. As of now, a confirmed consensus forecast for October retail sales has yet to emerge. The upcoming release should help investors assess whether US consumer demand remains strong and whether the economy can maintain its current growth momentum.

The gap between the actual retail sales figure and market expectations could be an important driver of short-term market movements. If October retail sales come in above expectations, it could signal resilient consumer spending and ease concerns about an economic slowdown. However, stronger consumption could also intensify concerns about a potential inflation rebound and reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated. This could push the US dollar and Treasury yields higher, putting valuation pressure on US equities and risk assets such as BTC.

Conversely, a weaker-than-expected reading could indicate cooling consumer demand and heighten concerns about an economic slowdown. At the same time, it could strengthen expectations of future Fed rate cuts and improve liquidity expectations for risk assets.

However, monthly retail sales figures can be influenced by factors such as auto sales, energy prices, and seasonal promotional activity. Investors should therefore assess the report alongside core retail sales, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), and labor market data to gain a more comprehensive understanding of underlying consumer demand and the Federal Reserve's potential policy direction.

Conclusion

Stronger-than-expected US inflation data and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials fueled expectations of further rate hikes this week, pushing the US dollar and Treasury yields higher. Bitcoin fell below $70,000, while Ethereum dropped under $2,000. The broader cryptocurrency market remained under pressure, with the median return among the top 300 tokens by market capitalization on Bitunix standing at -5.61% and only around 20% of tokens posting gains. PIEVERSE was a notable outperformer, rising nearly 30%, although its upcoming token unlock and large on-chain transfers could introduce additional supply-side risks. Looking ahead, markets will focus on the US October retail sales report to assess consumer spending momentum and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. Movements in the US dollar and Treasury yields are likely to remain key macroeconomic factors influencing digital assets and global risk markets.