Hello! We have entered another turbulent week internationally, with events and military operations continuing across the Middle East and unrest and uncertainty gripping almost the whole of Europe. A difficult winter is widely anticipated on every front, with numerous variables and just as many unpredictable factors.

Bear in mind that concerns about the difficult winter ahead and the many uncertainties surrounding the political and economic outlook will intensify in around three weeks, when the US midterm elections take place, with a negative result expected for the Trump administration. The repercussions will be felt around the world, including Europe and, of course, Greece, where they are already apparent in the steady stream of reports concerning the US ambassador in Athens.

Turning to domestic affairs, the government is expected to announce heating oil subsidies in the middle of the week. You’ll find the information we have gathered further down. Meanwhile, the monthly opinion polls resumed the day before yesterday, showing little change from September. All the parties remain broadly where they were last month.

Yesterday, the print edition of Proto Thema published a particularly interesting report on the Prime Minister’s Office’s internal polling, which actually runs to more than 50 pages and provides a serious, in-depth analysis of the political landscape.

You may already have read the conclusions, which are also being published today on protothema.gr, but I would like to highlight a few points that I consider significant.

First, it is easy to see that Mitsotakis, whether because he is a careful analyst of polling data or simply because he is now an exceptionally experienced politician, understands that the one thing he must not lose, or rather surrender, is his dominance of the political centre and centre-right.

The additional one and a half percentage points he gained following the Thessaloniki International Fair, along with the 50% of former supporters he is seeking to win back from those who helped propel him to 41% in 2023, are centrist voters.

That makes the rhetoric from Karamanlis, Samaras and their various “analysts” — Aris with his childhood-style curl, Antonaros and the rest — about the party having lost its soul and having “turned into PASOK” or “turned into To Potami” little more than hot air.

Of those New Democracy voters who identify as right-wing, 65% remain loyal to the party, while 11% have gone straight to the far-right Kasidiaris. The remainder amounts to relatively small percentages.

What exactly can Samaras offer these voters, given that it would be difficult to find a politician more firmly embedded in the establishment or more worn down by years in the political system?

These are people who regard “good old Ilias, who even went to prison for his beliefs”, as his supporters put it, as a hero.

Everyday life, private debt and corruption

The battle, therefore, is rightly being fought in the political territory that originally brought Mitsotakis to power: the large section of the electorate whose views fall within the centre and centre-right.

It is also being fought over the relentless pressures of everyday life, particularly the cost of living, cited by 70%, and the major difficulties people face with private debt.

The 120-instalment repayment arrangements, non-performing loans, loan servicers operating with virtually no oversight and out-of-court debt settlements are all pressing issues.

The government has begun addressing them more effectively, largely thanks to the insistence of Pierakakis, despite complaints from several people in the Prime Minister’s Office who take a more theoretical approach.

Enough is enough. Anyone who has previously tried to deal with a loan servicer or secure a reasonable and fair out-of-court settlement will understand exactly what I mean.

That is why the government’s internal polling shows overwhelming approval of its debt-relief measures.

As for corruption, well, the impression is that backroom deals and dubious transactions, from the lowest levels to the very highest, have increased dramatically.

Mitsotakis himself needs to do something about that while there is still time, in the hope of bringing at least some of it under control.

Tsipras vs Androulakis

The Prime Minister’s Office’s internal research also describes the state of the opposition.

PASOK has clearly recovered from the collapse to 8.5% indicated by the office’s polls — voting intention, not projected vote share — and, with Tsipras also losing a little more than one percentage point, its officials must understandably be breathing a sigh of relief.

However, both remain at low levels, and veteran pollster Greenberg’s assessment still places Tsipras in second position.

Of course, there are still six months to go.

Heating oil subsidies

As I understand it, the heating oil subsidy package has now been finalised and will be announced in the middle of the week by the Finance and Energy Ministries.

I am told that the combined subsidy from the state budget and refineries will amount to 35 cents per litre.

At current prices of €1.90 per litre, that would bring the cost down to somewhere between €1.50 and €1.60 per litre.

I also hear that petrol is likely to be excluded from the subsidies, which in its case were funded exclusively by the refineries, while the subsidy on diesel for vehicles will be extended for another 15 days, after which the situation will be reassessed.

A substantial increase in the heating allowance will also be announced, particularly benefiting areas in northern Greece.

Negotiations over the escape clause

The government’s success in securing an escape clause for energy measures will now become the subject of fresh negotiations, with Mitsotakis taking the lead at this week’s European Council summit.

The government’s objective is to ensure that the package, worth more than €1 billion over the coming years, includes measures to ease the burden on households.

In other words, it wants targeted consumer support to be included, rather than limiting the programme to specific infrastructure projects, as currently envisaged.

A form of fuel allowance, similar to the previous fuel pass scheme, could therefore emerge at a later stage, provided Greece receives the necessary approval.

After all, volatility in international fuel prices appears likely to continue for some time, regardless of European countries releasing strategic reserves.

Larissa before Brussels

Before heading to Brussels for that battle, however, Mitsotakis has another to fight in Greece’s agricultural heartland.

I understand that he will visit Larissa on Wednesday for the inauguration of an electricity storage facility being developed through a strategic partnership between Metlen and the Karatzis Group.

The prime minister is also likely to visit a local health centre renovated using Recovery and Resilience Facility funding, before addressing New Democracy friends and party officials at a café.

Rebuilding support is particularly important in agricultural regions, where New Democracy suffered a serious political backlash following the OPEKEPE scandal and last winter’s farmers’ protests.

Larissa has also traditionally served as a useful indicator of national election results.

Its unusual mix of agricultural and urban voters means that the party winning the constituency generally goes on to win nationally.

A British lord is brought in to break the Kypseli Metro deadlock

Hellenic Metro is turning to one of the world’s leading underground construction experts in its search for a safe way out of the months-long impasse affecting Line 4 in Kypseli.

British professor Lord Robert Mair, an internationally renowned authority on tunnelling through soft ground and the effects of soil movement on buildings, has been asked to assist with plans to restart safely the tunnel boring machine (TBM), which has been stationary since May.

According to information obtained, the decision to bring in the British professor was taken on the initiative of Deputy Infrastructure Minister Nikos Tachiaos, who sought one of the world’s most experienced specialists.

The appointment process is already under way, and the internationally respected geotechnical expert has begun receiving technical documentation relating to the project to build a comprehensive understanding of the incident and the conditions that have developed.

He is expected in Athens next week.

The choice of Mair is far from accidental.

The Cambridge emeritus professor has been involved in some of Britain’s largest and most technically demanding underground projects, including Crossrail — now the Elizabeth Line — and the London Underground’s Jubilee Line extension.

His specialist expertise includes ground settlement caused by tunnelling and the protection of buildings above ground.

His knowledge of compensation grouting, a technique involving controlled injections into the ground to limit movement, was used in London to protect even Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster.

Robert Mair is also a member of the British aristocracy. Since 2015, he has been a life peer in the House of Lords, holding the title Baron Mair of Cambridge.

He has also served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and is a fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

A difficult bill and the insurance companies

One of the most complex challenges is restarting the TBM safely as soon as possible while repairing apartment buildings affected by subsidence.

Many of these are older buildings, already showing the wear and structural weaknesses associated with properties constructed decades ago, to which damage linked to the tunnelling incident has now been added.

However, reports prepared by the Technical Chamber of Greece go beyond straightforward repairs.

According to information available, the proposed interventions amount in practice to building upgrades.

This is where another difficult issue arises.

The question is whether the cost of these works can be covered by the insurers underwriting the project.

Insurance typically covers the restoration of damage caused by a particular incident, rather than financing a broader upgrade of an ageing building.

If the technical recommendations therefore go beyond restoring the apartment blocks to their previous condition, the crucial question becomes who will pay the difference.

It is worth recalling that the project has insurance coverage of up to €1.8 billion through a consortium of insurers, including Allianz.

Bank of Cyprus: What if National Bank of Greece makes a takeover offer?

The management of Bank of Cyprus is keeping its options open.

With speculation about a possible takeover by National Bank of Greece resurfacing, chief executive Panicos Nicolaou declined to rule out such a development when speaking to journalists in Ayia Napa.

Instead, he explained that if an offer were submitted, management would be obliged to examine it and put it before shareholders, who would have the final say.

The discussion was not limited to National Bank of Greece.

Nicolaou acknowledged that consolidation is an established trend in European banking, with greater scale offering advantages, particularly given the growing investment required in technology and artificial intelligence.

Nevertheless, he believes there will still be room for strong local players, whose advantages include flexibility and faster decision-making.

This is where things become interesting.

With ample liquidity, a capital adequacy ratio of 20.9%, strong profitability and significant growth prospects, Bank of Cyprus could prove an attractive acquisition target not only for National Bank of Greece but also for a larger European banking group.

There is, of course, no confirmed offer.

The irony? Bank of Cyprus is itself looking for acquisitions in Greece, primarily in insurance and wealth management.

The electricity interconnector and broad political consensus

From banking takeover speculation, the conversation in Ayia Napa turned to the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project.

And there was news here, too.

As Nicolaou revealed, Bank of Cyprus has already been approached by a major investment bank involved in the Great Sea Interconnector project to explore a possible contribution to its financing.

He made clear that Bank of Cyprus examines projects with a Cypriot connection but, in this particular case, does not yet have the financial information needed to form an opinion.

Consequently, no financing commitment has been made.

Nevertheless, the fact that exploratory contacts with potential financiers have taken place is significant, despite the outstanding issues and disagreements surrounding the project.

Whether those discussions lead anywhere is another matter.

And since we are discussing Greek-Cypriot relations, another observation by the Cypriot bank’s chief executive about politics and the economy was also noteworthy.

Asked whether the election climate in 2027 could affect economic prospects, Nicolaou assessed that the Cypriot economy is less vulnerable to political developments than the Greek economy.

The reason, he explained, is that growth is more heavily driven by the private sector, without the same dependence on Recovery Fund resources.

Above all, he emphasised the broad political consensus in Cyprus around establishing the country as a regional business and technology hub.

That strategy has attracted foreign companies, investment and workers and, according to Nicolaou, does not change depending on which party is in government.

In other words, it is a development model that is not repeatedly reopened for debate whenever elections approach.

That is a significant distinction, particularly for those following political and economic developments in Greece ahead of 2027.

Could Coca-Cola be preparing to part ways with Costa Coffee?

Reports are circulating on specialist websites, although there has been no official confirmation.

Semafor has reported that Coca-Cola is once again considering selling Costa Coffee.

This would mark its second attempt in 14 months to dispose of the coffee chain it acquired from Whitbread for £3.9 billion ($5.1 billion).

The company has made no official comment.

The first attempt began in August 2025, with Lazard acting as adviser, but collapsed in December.

Coca-Cola, headquartered in Atlanta, was seeking approximately £2 billion, around half what it originally paid.

The final bidders, TDR Capital, which owns Asda, and Bain’s special situations fund, offered less.

Now, a new strategic buyer appears to have emerged and reviewed the company’s information, although it was reportedly unconvinced by the valuation.

Costa has 2,700 stores across Britain and Ireland and employs 16,000 people in the UK.

It announced that it returned to an operating profit of £20 million in 2025, compared with losses of £13.5 million in 2024.

Revenue rose by 5% to nearly £1.3 billion, while 1,063 stores have been refurbished since 2023.

In other words, the seller is returning to the market with a more attractive proposition.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has also changed leadership.

In March, Henrique Braun succeeded James Quincey, who had acknowledged that Costa had underperformed.

Following the collapse of the sale process launched in August, restructuring advisers Alvarez & Marsal and AlixPartners were brought in.

The issue also has implications for Coca-Cola HBC, the parent company of Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon, which works with Costa across its markets.

In the first half of the year, the group’s total coffee volumes fell by 14.2%, reflecting a joint decision with Costa to focus on out-of-home consumption.

Volumes in that channel increased by 24.5%, supported by more than 1,300 new outlets.

Nobody knows what will happen to that partnership if Costa changes ownership.

Greek banks: What’s happening on the stock market?

A three-day slide in banking shares on the Athens Stock Exchange has revived the question of whether the sell-off represents a normal correction following a strong rally or a sign of growing investor caution.

The banking index has fallen 9.2% over the past three sessions, slipping below 3,000 points for the first time since late July.

All four systemic banks have recorded substantial losses.

Eurobank and Piraeus Bank have each declined by 10.3%, Alpha Bank by 8.9% and National Bank of Greece by 8.5% over the same period.

However, the picture changes when performance is assessed over the year as a whole.

The banking index remains up 29.1% in 2026.

Piraeus Bank leads with gains of 40.1%, followed by Eurobank at 26.2%, National Bank of Greece at 23.1% and Alpha Bank at 16.8%.

The retreat from recent highs makes profit-taking a plausible explanation, particularly among investors seeking liquidity or reducing their exposure to equities following an extended rally.

What happens next will depend on the stabilisation of international market sentiment, valuations and the resilience of bank earnings.

In September, the month when Greece was upgraded to developed-market status by FTSE Russell and STOXX, foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of €472.2 million.

That represented almost two-thirds of the €726.9 million in net purchases recorded over the first nine months of the year.

Banking shares therefore had something of a cushion, with the market upgrade buying Greek banks a little time.

October, however, has brought a confrontation with a new reality and external sources of pressure.

Rising oil prices, fears of renewed inflation and turbulence in bond markets have triggered broader selling across European banking stocks.

One example is Société Générale, whose shares are now 25% below their August high.

Aktor: The investment case behind Ambrosia Capital’s ‘Buy’ recommendation

Aktor staged a strong recovery, rising 6.24% to €9.70 in its best trading session since 16 June, with Ambrosia Capital’s initiation of coverage acting as the catalyst.

The brokerage has issued a “Buy” recommendation and a target price of €15, compared with the €9.13 share price used in its analysis, implying potential upside of 64%.

Following last Friday’s share price jump, that potential upside has narrowed to 54.6%.

According to Ambrosia Capital, the investment case centres on Aktor’s transformation into an infrastructure and energy group.

The strategy includes a €3 billion investment programme and projected annual growth of 25% in adjusted EBITDA between 2025 and 2032.

Construction, concessions, renewable energy and LNG are the main growth drivers.

The acquisitions of Helector and Thalis are expected to contribute approximately €40 million to annual EBITDA from 2027.

Challenges remain, particularly executing the ambitious plan and containing financing costs.

Why the telecommunications market was shaken

On Thursday evening, SpaceX announced that it was acquiring a nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz spectrum licences from investment fund Grain Management.

The plan is for Starlink Mobile to become the next major mobile operator in the United States.

On Friday, shares in T-Mobile US fell 13.3%, AT&T lost 9.8% and Verizon declined 8.8%.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Telekom closed down 7.94% at €24.70, even as the DAX gained 1.1%.

The painful detail for Bonn is that the spectrum had belonged to Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary.

T-Mobile sold it to Grain in August for $2.9 billion, in a deal that also included licences in the 600 MHz band.

Two months later, Grain resold it to Musk.

Reuters reported that Musk would pay close to $8 billion.

The reality, however, is that owning spectrum is not the same as operating a network.

Building a network involves different requirements and technical specifications.

The transaction requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, while T-Mobile’s chief technology officer has pointed out that more than 70% of network traffic takes place indoors.

The market remained unconvinced, and the immediate reaction was striking.

Shares in mobile tower companies American Tower and Crown Castle closed up 9.3% and 15.6%, respectively.

In Athens, the impact of the deal was relatively limited.

OTE closed Friday at €19.30, down 0.77%, with a market capitalisation of €7.62 billion and weekly losses of just 0.26%, despite a declining market.

Elsewhere in Europe, Vodafone, Orange and Telefónica recorded losses ranging from 3% to 4.2%.

The difference appears understandable, as concerns about a powerful new competitor primarily affect the US market, where OTE has no exposure.

OTE’s relationship with Musk is of a different kind.

In March, its parent company reached an agreement with Starlink to provide satellite mobile coverage in ten countries from 2028, including Greece.

T-Mobile received $2.9 billion for the spectrum.

Its parent company lost approximately €12 billion in market value in a single session — more than one and a half times the entire value of OTE.

What changes for OTE, Vodafone and Nova

Greece may be a relatively small market, but it is certainly not immune to the impact of SpaceX and other industry disruptors.

When SpaceX introduced attractively priced satellite internet through Starlink, domestic providers began losing customers, particularly on islands, in remote areas and in communities without fibre-optic infrastructure.

OTE responded by deploying Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology through its standalone 5G network, as did other providers.

In mobile telecommunications, satellites cannot replace the density and capacity of terrestrial 5G networks in the short term.

Competition therefore appears to be developing along different lines, with satellite services potentially becoming part of the existing operators’ packages.

Through Deutsche Telekom, OTE has already secured strategic access to Starlink’s Direct to Cell technology, with Greece among the European markets where the service is planned to launch from 2028.

Vodafone is pursuing a different route through its partnership with AST SpaceMobile.

For Nova, satellite connectivity is emerging as a potential area for new partnerships.

Greece’s first national supercomputer prepares for inauguration

Next Monday, 19 October, Greece’s national supercomputer, Daedalus, will be inaugurated in Lavrio, housed in the former power station building at the Technology Park.

With a measured performance of 85.69 petaflops, it ranked 31st worldwide in June and 23rd for energy efficiency.

The system, developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and equipped with Nvidia accelerators, will form the computing backbone of Pharos, the Greek AI Factory coordinated by the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET), the state organisation responsible for technology infrastructure.

Just 24 days later, on 12 November, the deadline expires for the European EuroHPC initiative — the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking — covering up to seven AI Gigafactories.

The initiative involves investment exceeding €30 billion, with each facility requiring at least 100,000 advanced chips.

Greece has already allocated €350 million from its Recovery Fund resources to EuroHPC.

Including the European contribution, the potential funding framework reaches €700 million.

Decisions on the successful proposals are expected in early 2027.

Kozani represents an intermediate step.

A tender for a second supercomputer, worth €30 million and funded through national resources, is expected to be launched in October at the University of Western Macedonia.

The models will be trained in Lavrio and run in Kozani.

Three separate projects are therefore converging on Western Macedonia.

The private-sector initiative already has signed agreements, including a binding memorandum between PPC and Amazon Web Services for a 300 MW data centre in Agios Dimitrios.

The Gigafactory is a separate proposal.

It is not yet known which consortium will sign Greece’s bid to EuroHPC.

A family business with a golden touch

Members of the well-known Vildiridis family of jewellers have established not one but two new companies in recent days.

Specifically, Vouk25 Properties was incorporated last Friday, 9 October, with its name referring to the family’s large jewellery store at 25 Voukourestiou Street.

Its business activities include selling, leasing and managing property in practically every conceivable way.

The initial share capital is €5,000, paid in by RevHolding LP.

That company was established one day earlier, on 8 October, to provide holding company services and engage in property transactions and management, also with share capital of €5,000.

RevHolding is owned by Arsenios Vildiridis, who holds 95%, and Alexandros Vildiridis, who owns the remaining 5%.

Both companies are based on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue.

My guess is that they have discovered a real goldmine in property.

Indian interest in Greek ports: Who could enter the market?

The meetings held by Deputy Shipping Minister Stefanos Gikas in New Delhi may have concluded last week, but the real interest lies in what happens next.

And particularly in one aspect that received relatively little attention in the news: the prospect of Indian capital entering Greek ports.

The issue was raised during Gikas’s meeting with his Indian counterpart, Shantanu Thakur, in connection with plans for the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

The question now is which major Indian business groups might be interested and, more importantly, which Greek port facilities they might target.

Would they seek a stake in port management, or would they prefer container terminals and logistics networks?

The possibility carries particular geopolitical significance, as an Indian presence would introduce another powerful player into Greece’s port sector, where international interests are already competing.

For now, there are no announced agreements or specific targets.

The next steps, however, will show whether the interest expressed in New Delhi can translate into concrete business activity.

At that point, the discussion will concern not just IMEC but also the changing balance of power in Greek ports.

Semiramis Paliou is not considering an Athens stock market listing

At the Capital Link conference in New York, Diana Shipping’s management chose this time to stay away from the spotlight of panel discussions and focus instead on direct conversations with investors.

I understand that Semiramis Paliou, chief executive of Diana Shipping, together with chief financial officer Ioannis Zafirakis and board member Eleftherios Papatrifon, held private meetings aimed at convincing Wall Street that the company is worth considerably more than its share price suggests.

And they have a point: the stock trades at just 35% of the net asset value of the company’s holdings.

The more interesting development, however, lies elsewhere.

The flirtation with Genco may have come to nothing, but the door has not been definitively closed.

Diana is leaving open the possibility of returning to the deal if the price becomes more attractive.

After all, having invested $103 million in shares in a potential acquisition target, it is difficult simply to walk away.

There is another development of Greek interest.

While other shipping companies are discovering Euronext Athens, Paliou is not currently considering a dual listing.

Grimaldi: Many heirs, one empire and the challenge of maintaining the balance

At shipping giant Grimaldi, the next chapter is already beginning to take shape.

But the big question is not simply who will take the helm.

It is how the ambitions and aspirations of an increasingly large next generation can be accommodated within the same business.

The subject was being discussed in private conversations on the sidelines of the 27th Euromed Convention, organised by the Naples-based group in Cagliari, Sardinia, a few days ago.

The group, valued at €5.92 billion and operating a fleet of approximately 130 vessels, is currently controlled by four siblings: Emanuele, Gianluca, Amelia and Maria.

However, increasing numbers of family members from the next generation are taking active roles, as was evident at the recent Sardinian conference.

And this is where the real behind-the-scenes intrigue begins.

The establishment of separate family holding companies, restructuring of the ownership structure and even references to a potential stock market listing suggest that preparations are being made for the future.

Emanuele has avoided publicly opening the succession debate.

In shipping circles, however, attention is focused on a delicate issue.

How will the balance between the various branches of the family be maintained when the four principal shareholders gradually give their successors greater influence?

After all, sharing ownership is one thing. Sharing power in a multibillion-euro family empire is quite another.

Major AI company IPO abandoned over valuation concerns

Growing investor caution over inflated artificial intelligence valuations has led to the cancellation of one of Australia’s largest planned initial public offerings.

Firmus Grid, a data centre infrastructure company backed by Nvidia, withdrew plans to raise up to $5.5 billion after failing to attract sufficient institutional investor interest.

Its proposed $30 billion valuation, compared with just $10.5 billion three months earlier, was considered excessive for a company generating annual revenue of only $51 million.

Furthermore, of the 912 MW of planned data centre capacity, only 46 MW has actually been built.

The development highlights growing concern about how the surge in AI infrastructure investment will be financed.

Almost $500 billion of new debt has been issued this year to support AI infrastructure, while rising bond yields are pushing up the cost of capital.

Firmus’s failed flotation represents a warning sign for valuations across the sector, as investors increasingly demand tangible financial results rather than promises of future growth alone.

Tuesday the 13th marks the start of third-quarter earnings season

JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will open the third-quarter earnings season for the US financial sector on Tuesday the 13th, against a backdrop of sharply rising government bond yields.

Over the most recent quarter, JPMorgan shares fell 0.3% and Wells Fargo declined 6.2%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.2%.

That represents underperformance of 4.5 and 10.4 percentage points, respectively.

Despite pressure on their share prices, JPMorgan’s earnings forecasts have been revised marginally upwards, while those for Wells Fargo have remained relatively stable.

Across the financial sector, earnings are expected to rise 3.4% compared with the same quarter last year, with revenue increasing by 6.3%.

These figures indicate a significant slowdown from the previous quarter, when earnings grew by 22.4% and revenue by 13.2%.

Although higher interest rates can improve returns on loans, a sharp rise in bond yields generates paper losses on bond portfolios and raises deposit costs.

At the same time, weaker demand for credit and a potential increase in provisions make it harder for banks to translate revenue growth into higher net profits.

Trading revenue is expected to remain strong, although lower than in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, bond market turbulence has resulted in the postponement of major initial public offerings, affecting the associated fee income.

Investors will focus primarily on net interest margins, deposit costs, credit provisions and guidance from bank management.

With earnings growth slowing to 3.4%, the sector now has considerably less room to absorb negative surprises.

Even cryptocurrencies are taking their cues from bond markets

Bitcoin touched $87,100 on 2 October.

Six days later, it had fallen to $80,400, a decline of 7.7%.

On Friday, it closed near $82,600, and by midday on Sunday it was trading at around $83,000, approximately 29% below its 52-week high.

As with banking shares, pressure is coming from bond markets and oil prices.

An asset that pays no interest becomes relatively more expensive to hold as yields on supposedly safe investments rise.

Previously, US spot Bitcoin ETFs had recorded three consecutive weeks of inflows, including $2.4 billion in the week to 25 September alone.

Those inflows had pushed the year-to-date total into positive territory, at approximately $1.2 billion.

On Wednesday, however, $484.9 million was withdrawn, the largest daily outflow since June.

A further $244.1 million left on Thursday.

The week ended with net outflows of approximately $679 million, equivalent to more than half the year’s accumulated inflows.

Leverage amplified the price decline.

Forced liquidations of positions exceeded $2.4 billion over the week.

On Thursday, investors who had held Bitcoin for up to six months transferred 55,600 bitcoins to exchanges at a loss, according to CryptoQuant.

Ether fell 6.8%, while its own ETFs recorded eight consecutive days of outflows.

Friday’s recovery came as bond yields declined.

Over the weekend, the deadly attack at Riyadh airport added another layer of geopolitical risk, which oil and bond markets will price in today.

The next major test will be Wednesday’s US inflation figures.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were designed to operate independently of central banks.

Ultimately, however, the movement of money into and out of these assets remains dependent on announcements from Washington.

Revolut’s ambition: One million new customers every 17 days

Revolut is searching for its own signature scent.

Gareth Morgan, the company’s global head of brand design, announced on LinkedIn that he was looking for a scent-branding company capable of translating the Revolut brand into something “unexpected, memorable and unmistakably ours”.

The post attracted more than 300 comments in a single day.

Of course, a distinctive scent becomes useful when a company has physical premises of its own.

Revolut has surpassed 80 million customers without operating a single branch.

In April, it announced plans for its first Revolut Store in Barcelona.

In August, it announced its first dedicated airport lounge, scheduled to open at Copenhagen Airport in 2027.

Formula 1 has also been used to raise awareness of the Revolut brand.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, the Audi Revolut F1 Team ranked eighth among 11 teams, with 17 points compared with Mercedes’ 538.

Revolut, however, is not particularly interested in the results or championship standings.

What matters is the race calendar: Austin on 25 October, Mexico City on 1 November, São Paulo on 8 November and Las Vegas on 22 November.

Four stops across the Americas in a single month.

The reason is that on 3 September, the US banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), granted conditional approval for Revolut Bank US, with initial capital of approximately $95 million and a target launch during the first half of 2027.

Approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve remain outstanding.

Revolut’s bank is already operating in Mexico, while regulatory processes are progressing in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

The target is to reach 100 million customers by mid-2027, adding one million new users every 17 days.

At that pace, attracting the remaining 20 million customers would take approximately 340 days.