The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on October 28, while a confirmed shutdown date for Binance's mining services and a new US trade petition affecting shopping carts headlined an otherwise quiet overnight news cycle. Here is what changed, and what to watch today.
Federal Reserve holds rates at 3.75% to 4.00%
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to hold the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4.00%. Governors Cook and Hammack dissented in favour of a further 25-basis-point increase. The decision came against September consumer price inflation of 3.7%, up from 3.4%, with core inflation at 2.6%.
The statement gave no clear signal on December, although traders still price about an 87% chance of a December hike, according to IBD. Fed Chair Warsh also announced a reshaped meeting calendar, adding strategy-only sessions: one such session in 2027, with the plan moving toward six rate-setting meetings and two strategy sessions in 2028.
US petition seeks trade-remedy probe into Chinese shopping carts
The US domestic industry has petitioned for a trade-remedy investigation into Chinese shopping carts, alleging dumping and subsidies. The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission are to investigate. The category is niche, but it is directly relevant to online sellers who source carts and store equipment.
Binance Pool and Cloud Mining shutdown confirmed for November 10
Binance has now officially confirmed that its Pool and Cloud Mining services will shut down globally on November 10 at 07:00 UTC, resolving an earlier single-source report. Pool Savings, the Transaction Accelerator, alerts and APIs will also end. Service pages will remain readable until November 24 at 07:00 UTC, after which they will be permanently removed, and the KYC deadline is November 10 at 23:59 UTC.
Coinbase STG and PYR trading ends November 6
Coinbase's trading in STG and PYR ends on November 6, now eight days away, so the deadline is re-reported here under the usual window. The window for Coinbase's BAL and TNSR deadline of November 9 opens on November 1. As a reminder only, tomorrow, October 30, brings the Coinbase EEA 14-asset conversion and Binance's 12 pair removals, both already reported.
Spain train toll confirmed at 68; injured now about 100
The confirmed death toll from the Spain high-speed train collision remains at 68, while the number of injured has risen to about 100, up from the earlier 58-80 range. No new update was found on the Israel count in this window, so the 85.6% counted figure stands.
Market snapshot
Bitcoin traded at about $81,488, up 0.92%, and Ethereum at about $2,368, up 0.88%. Brent crude was about $115.37 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate about $102.90. The key data point today is US GDP and PCE figures, due at 17:30 Pakistan time on October 29.
Sources
Federal Reserve decision and meeting calendar: Bloomberg via Advisor Perspectives, Barchart and NDTV Profit, October 28; IBD on December hike pricing; corroborated by the Federal Reserve Board's October 28 post: Federal Reserve Board on Instagram. Shopping carts petition: PR Newswire, October 28. Binance Pool shutdown: official Binance announcement of October 13, with CoinDesk, CoinMarketCap and TradingView. Coinbase STG/PYR and BAL/TNSR schedule: Coinbase trading-end schedule as tracked. Spain toll and injuries: Reuters via Onmanorama and USA Today. Market prices: Finnhub live data for Bitcoin and Ethereum; oil via the ksaexpats October 29 table, consistent with EIA-report levels.
