HONG KONG — Last week’s sharp crypto sell-off was less a replay of 2022’s scandals and more a macro-driven unwind spilling over from traditional finance, according to market participants at Consensus Hong Kong 2026.

“After Oct. 10th, a lot of people had already reduced risk,” said Fabio Frontini, founder of Abraxas Capital Management. “This is just a spillover from TradFi entirely… it’s all interconnected now.”

Panelists pointed to the unwinding of yen carry trades as a key catalyst. Thomas Restout, group CEO of B2C2, described the mechanics: investors borrow in low-interest-rate currencies like the yen and deploy that capital into higher-yielding or risk assets, including bitcoin, ether, gold and silver.

“What does…