Wall Street is preparing to put more tokenized assets to work this month, and two altcoins sit directly in that path. An analyst has ranked the five altcoins with the most important catalysts in October, with a clear warning that good news does not guarantee a higher price.

5. Chainlink (LINK): Waiting for real usage

Chainlink’s upgraded cross-chain protocol, CCIP 2.0, went live last week with added controls for verification and compliance. The team also introduced Fulcrum, a tool that lets institutions finance and manage collateral across blockchains around the clock. At the Sibos conference, Chainlink demonstrated cross-chain institutional financing with the DTCC. It says the DTCC’s collateral app chain will use its runtime environment.

The analyst ranked LINK fifth because these announcements are already public. What he wants to see next is institutions using the system and that activity creating demand for the token.

4. Ethereum (ETH): Glamsterdam upgrade reaches testnet

Ethereum’s next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, is scheduled to reach the Sepolia test network on October 6. No mainnet date has been confirmed.

The upgrade changes how Ethereum produces and validates blocks so that more work can be processed in parallel. The analyst cautioned that it will not deliver a tenfold speed increase overnight. A clean test would build confidence in Ethereum’s roadmap, while a delay would be a reason to reassess.

3. Zcash (ZEC): two dates that decide November

Zcash’s NU7 upgrade also hits testnet on October 6. On October 20, the team plans to make its final decision on mainnet activation, which is currently targeted for November 5.

The main change is faster blocks, with the target time dropping from 75 seconds to about 25 seconds. Block rewards will be adjusted so that supply does not triple. The analyst said a successful upgrade would be progress but would not prove that adoption is growing.

2. Hyperliquid (HYPE): buybacks meet a token unlock

Hyperliquid now shares about 90% of the reserve yield on its USDC supply with the protocol. That money goes to the assistance fund, which buys back HYPE. The first payment went live on October 3.

Three days later, on October 6, a contributor token unlock is due. The analyst said unlocked tokens are not automatically sold, but he would not assume the new buyback money will absorb any selling either. If HYPE holds up through the unlock, he sees a stronger setup.

The DTCC, which sits at the centre of US securities clearing and settlement, is targeting the last week of October to launch its tokenization service. In July, it converted assets into tokens used in real trades involving Canton, covering collateral, securities lending, Treasuries and equities.

London Stock Exchange Group also became a super validator on Canton at the end of September. Fees on the network are paid by burning CC tokens, which ties usage to the token’s supply.

The analyst listed three risks. No exact launch date is confirmed, the DTCC is working with multiple chains, and CC’s price fell ahead of the earlier soft launch.

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