Bitcoin remained above $80,000 after recovering from an early-session decline, while a sharp downturn in Asian equities intensified selling across the altcoin market. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 8%, the CoinDesk 80 Index lost 2.2%, and all but six cryptocurrencies in the CoinDesk 100 were trading lower.
BTC traded around $81,200, down approximately 0.5% since midnight UTC after recovering from an earlier decline of about 1%. Buying emerged shortly after 02:30 UTC as the price approached $80,000. The level was close to Bitcoin’s October 8 low of roughly $80,300.
Asian stock markets came under significant pressure, with South Korea’s Kospi falling 8% and triggering circuit breakers. Nasdaq 100 futures also declined around 1%, extending Wednesday’s 1.9% drop in the Nasdaq Composite.
Altcoins underperformed Bitcoin during the sell-off. Ether fell 2% to approximately $2,370, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) dropped 2.2%. The CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5), which is more heavily weighted toward Bitcoin, declined by a smaller 0.7%.
Smaller cryptocurrencies recorded more substantial losses. Pump.fun’s PUMP token plunged 9.4%, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index shed 4%. The broader downturn left all but six members of the CoinDesk 100 in negative territory.
Investors also reassessed the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook following Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report. CME FedWatch data showed the implied probability of an October rate hike briefly reaching nearly 47%, compared with roughly 22% before the inflation figures were released. The odds later eased to around 26%, leaving Treasury yields and expectations for Fed policy among the key signals to watch before U.S. markets open.
Derivatives Markets Face Heavy Liquidations
Crypto futures liquidations approach $1 billion. Nearly $1 billion in crypto futures positions were forcibly closed over a 24-hour period as traders responded to the latest U.S. inflation data. That compared with approximately $136 million in liquidations a day earlier, highlighting how vulnerable leveraged positions had become ahead of the report.
Ether traders incur larger liquidation totals than Bitcoin traders. ETH long positions accounted for roughly $200 million in liquidations, compared with about $115 million for BTC longs. The disparity suggests that leveraged bullish positions in Ether experienced greater pressure during the downturn.
Silver futures liquidations exceed those for Zcash. Perpetual futures linked to silver, traded under the XAG ticker, recorded more liquidations than Zcash (ZEC), a prominent privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The trend reflects the expanding range of traditional financial assets available on crypto trading platforms.
Futures turnover rises sharply while open interest remains stable. Crypto futures trading volume over 24 hours increased 61% to $252 billion, while total open interest stayed near $139.6 billion. The combination suggests that much of the increased activity came from positions being closed or reshuffled, rather than a major expansion in overall leverage. Short-side taker volume accounted for 51.67% of the total, keeping the long/short ratio tilted toward sellers and close to the previous day’s 52%.
Bitcoin futures exposure grows despite a price decline. BTC’s spot price fell more than 2% over 24 hours, while dollar-denominated futures open interest increased 1.6%. Because open interest is measured in dollars, the difference implies that outstanding contract numbers rose by approximately 3.7%. This indicates that new positions were being opened as Bitcoin declined.
At the same time, Bitcoin’s 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remained negative, as did readings for most other cryptocurrencies, suggesting that aggressive selling dominated trading activity. Some of the new positions may have been short bets, although open interest alone cannot establish the direction of traders’ exposure. Bitcoin’s perpetual funding rate also remained positive, indicating that long-position holders were still paying funding to short-position holders.
Ether and Solana display comparable positioning signals. Futures open interest for ETH and SOL remained relatively stable even as their spot prices fell more sharply than Bitcoin’s. Stable dollar-denominated open interest during a price decline implies an increase in the number of outstanding contracts, suggesting that fresh positions entered the market. Both assets also recorded negative CVD readings alongside positive funding rates.
Dogecoin and NEAR see traders reduce risk. Open interest in DOGE and NEAR fell considerably more than their spot prices. This points to active position closures and capital leaving those markets, rather than the declines being caused solely by lower token valuations.
Bitcoin implied volatility stays above 40%. The BVIV index remained slightly above 40% for a second consecutive day, recovering from recent lows near 34%. The move indicates renewed demand for options as traders prepare for continued volatility. However, implied volatility remains below the panic levels recorded in February and June. Ether’s implied volatility index showed a similar trend.
Bitcoin options reveal a mix of bullish positioning and downside protection. On Deribit, BTC call options with strike prices of $90,000 and $86,000 ranked among the five most actively traded options over 24 hours. The other three contracts in the top five were puts. Calls at strikes above the current market price can reflect expectations of a rebound, while puts are commonly used to hedge against further declines. Ether’s options market appeared more defensive, with puts dominating its leading contracts.
Token Performance: PUMP Falls, PYTH and STRK Gain
Pump.fun leads losses among major cryptocurrencies. PUMP, the token associated with the Solana-based memecoin launchpad, fell 9.4%, recording the largest decline in the CoinDesk 100. Selling also hit other Solana ecosystem assets, with Jito’s JTO dropping 6.2% and Jupiter’s JUP losing 6.1%. Solana’s SOL declined by a more modest 1.1% to approximately $103.
Pyth Network extends its upward move. PYTH gained 2.8%, continuing a rally that began on October 8 after its decentralized autonomous organization voted to allocate all product revenue toward monthly token buybacks. CoinMarketCap data showed approximately $96 million in PYTH trading volume over 24 hours, up 67% from the preceding 24-hour period.
Starknet rebounds from its recent decline. STRK climbed 11%, recovering after falling 17% on October 13. Despite the recent volatility, the token remained 278% above its yearly low of $0.021, reached on August 16.
Canton, Optimism and Aerodrome experience further losses. Canton’s CC token declined 7.3%, Optimism’s OP dropped 7%, and Aerodrome’s AERO fell 6.4%. Limited liquidity across the altcoin market continued to weigh on prices.
Several larger tokens hold up better. Tron’s TRX traded largely unchanged, Monero’s XMR slipped 0.55%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE declined 0.96% to approximately $80.
