Bitcoin hovered around $83,000 during European trading as U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated. DeFi tokens gave back part of Tuesday’s gains, while Lighter dropped 17% after Robinhood announced plans to offer perpetual futures in the U.S.
BTC was changing hands at $83,164 in the European morning, down 0.57% since midnight UTC. The CoinDesk 100 was evenly split, with 50 constituents in positive territory and 50 lower.
Bitcoin had declined about 1% over the previous 24 hours, retreating from a Tuesday U.S. session high of $84,400. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) lost 2.3%, making it the weakest-performing index group. Aave fell 4.4% after climbing 11% on Tuesday, when it led the broader market’s gains.
Traditional markets were firmer in early trading. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.27%, while the Stoxx 600 gained 0.74%.
The moves came after the 30-year Treasury yield surpassed 5.6% on Tuesday, reaching its highest level since June 2002. The 10-year yield also touched a fresh 2007 high near 5.3%, according to CNBC.
Brent crude was trading at $96.43 after declining Tuesday. It remained well below the $100 threshold that had accompanied Monday’s crypto market selloff.
There was no clear catalyst behind bitcoin’s latest move. Investors were awaiting the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, which was due before the Wall Street opening bell. Micron earnings were scheduled for later in the day.
Bitcoin has remained in a consolidation phase since its unsuccessful breakout attempt on Sept. 21, when it reached about $87,300.
Bitcoin rally remains largely spot-driven
Crypto derivatives data showed continued moderation in leverage. The market-wide taker long/short volume ratio was balanced for a second straight day. Two days earlier, sellers had held a slight advantage, accounting for 53.1% of volume versus 46.9% for buyers.
Liquidations fell to around $196 million from $389 million the previous day. Total open interest slipped to $147 billion from almost $150 billion two days earlier, while trading volume declined 16.9% to $181 billion, according to CoinGlass.
Bitcoin futures open interest also continued to fall. The figure dropped to 625,000 BTC, the lowest level since Jan. 1, compared with 644,000 BTC a day earlier and 650,000 BTC two days earlier.
Futures positioning has been declining since June even as bitcoin climbed from $57,000 to above $80,000. The trend indicates that spot demand, rather than increasing leverage, has played a larger role in the price advance.
Binance traders remained positioned more heavily on the long side. The long/short ratio increased to 1.42 for retail traders and 1.49 for whales, compared with 1.24 and 1.31, respectively, the previous day.
Whale positioning edged up to 1.90 from 1.88 but remained below the 2.3-plus levels recorded earlier this month. A ratio above 1 means long positions exceed short positions.
Ether futures open interest fell to approximately 13.08 million ETH, its lowest level since early March. Futures activity for SOL and XRP remained subdued, extending the quiet trend seen this week.
Speculative activity increased in some tokens. PUMP gained almost 16% over 24 hours, the strongest performance among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, while its futures open interest also rose. The combination suggests that new leveraged capital is entering the token.
In speculative markets, repeated increases in both price and leverage have historically appeared around short-term market peaks.
HBAR dropped 16% over 24 hours even as its futures open interest climbed to fresh highs. Funding rates moved into negative territory from slightly above zero two days earlier, indicating stronger demand for short positions.
Traders could also be using those short positions to hedge existing spot holdings against further declines. HBAR’s 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD was the most negative among major tokens, signaling aggressive selling.
POL and CAKE also recorded deeply negative funding rates, meaning short sellers were paying to maintain their positions. LIT showed the opposite setup, with strongly positive funding.
Options and volatility remain subdued
Thirty-day implied volatility measures for bitcoin and ether remained relatively calm for another day. Traders continued to price orderly conditions despite rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and weaker gold.
Deribit data showed demand for both BTC calls and puts, following a clear preference for calls the previous day. The $70,000 BTC call was the most traded contract over the past 24 hours.
The $3,000 ETH call was the most actively traded ether options contract for a second consecutive day.
Lighter drops after Robinhood perps announcement
Lighter (LIT), the token tied to the perpetuals exchange, fell 17% over 24 hours and declined another 5.6% since midnight UTC. Its market capitalization dropped to $2.1 billion.
The decline followed Robinhood’s announcement that it plans to offer U.S. perpetual futures through its own derivatives arm.
Interoperability tokens were among the strongest performers. Quant (QNT) climbed 7.5% since midnight, leading the CoinDesk 100 and bringing its 24-hour gain to 14%. LayerZero (ZRO), a cross-chain messaging token, rose 13% over the same period.
Memecoins also gained ground. Bonk (BONK) rose 5.9%, while dogwifhat (WIF) added 3.4% since midnight. PUMP declined 2.7% but remained 14% higher over 24 hours.
DeFi tokens were mixed following Tuesday’s rally, which came amid speculation over a potential Aave token burn. Aave declined 3% since midnight, while Uniswap (UNI) and Ondo (ONDO) posted smaller losses.
Curve (CRV) gained 3.6%, while Lido (LDO) and Ethena (ENA) each advanced 1.8%.
CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index remained at 61 out of 100, staying above 60 for a fifth consecutive day. The index has remained at these levels for the first time in more than three months as altcoins attract attention while bitcoin continues to consolidate.
