Bitcoin staged a modest recovery on Friday after finding support near $75,200 following Thursday’s AI-driven market downturn. The sell-off wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions, leaving investors focused on the upcoming U.S. jobs report for fresh market direction.
Bitcoin (BTC) increased 0.2% to approximately $76,150 from midnight UTC, recovering after briefly touching $75,200 around 23:00 UTC on Thursday. Ether (ETH) also moved higher by 0.3%, while the CoinDesk 80 Index posted a similar gain. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index outperformed other market segments with a 4% advance.
The recovery followed a difficult session across financial markets. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5% on Thursday as investors worried that Democratic control of Congress could create regulatory and political hurdles for AI data center expansion.
The concerns triggered selling across technology stocks and spilled over into cryptocurrencies. CoinGlass data showed that more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours. Bitcoin declined 5.3% during that period, while Ether lost 7.3%.
Institutional demand also weakened as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded significant withdrawals. Farside Investors data showed that Fidelity’s FBTC experienced approximately $200 million in outflows, while BlackRock’s IBIT recorded $105 million in withdrawals. This extended IBIT’s outflow streak to five consecutive trading sessions.
Attention has now shifted to the U.S. employment report, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. EST (13:30 UTC). Economists surveyed by FactSet expect October payrolls to increase by 65,000, making the data an important factor for investors assessing the economic outlook.
Bitcoin Futures and Options Point to Increased Caution
Bitcoin derivatives markets showed a combination of renewed positioning and defensive sentiment following the liquidation wave.
Open interest in Bitcoin futures increased to $22.1 billion from $21.8 billion. However, total liquidations reached $1.27 billion over 24 hours, including approximately $1.1 billion in bullish long positions.
The rise in open interest indicates that traders began restoring leveraged exposure after the forced closures. Funding rates also experienced sharp fluctuations, briefly dropping to an annualized negative 5% on Bybit before stabilizing between 0% and 5% across other exchanges.
The three-month Bitcoin futures basis remained steady at approximately 5.7%.
Options traders also showed greater interest in protecting against potential price declines. The 24-hour put-to-call volume ratio stood near 51:48 in favor of puts, while the one-week 25-delta skew increased to approximately 15% from 11% a week earlier.
The implied volatility term structure remained in contango, with short-dated volatility rising toward 50% amid immediate market uncertainty. Longer-dated contracts extending through late 2027 remained within the 38%–40% range.
Meanwhile, Binance’s liquidation heatmap identified a substantial concentration of leveraged long liquidity between $74,000 and $75,000. If Bitcoin resumes its downward movement, this area could become a potential zone for additional liquidations.
On the upside, the $76,800–$77,000 region represents an important liquidity area that traders may monitor during a continued recovery.
WLFI Buyback Plans Lift Token as Altcoin Sentiment Weakens
World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token gained approximately 3.5% after the Trump-backed project revealed plans to expand its token repurchase activity.
The proposed buybacks will be partly financed through fees generated by reserves backing its USD1 stablecoin. However, WLFI remains approximately 10% below its level before Tuesday’s midterm elections and has declined more than 66% since the beginning of the year. The official Trump (TRUMP) token also reached a fresh record low during the week.
Privacy-focused assets demonstrated relative strength during the broader market correction. Monero (XMR) declined 3.2% over 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin’s 5.3% loss.
Zcash (ZEC) activated its NU7 upgrade early Friday, reducing its targeted block production interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds. The cryptocurrency gained approximately 1% following the network update.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token continued to retreat from its recent highs, trading around 19% below last week’s $96 peak. The earlier rally was driven by an agreement between ICE and Trade[XYZ] to introduce Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures to U.S. retail traders. However, enthusiasm surrounding the announcement has gradually weakened.
Injective (INJ) moved in the opposite direction, gaining 14% over the week. The advance followed Nasdaq’s approval of Canary Capital’s staked INJ ETF listing, according to an SEC filing.
Despite individual token gains, broader altcoin sentiment remained subdued. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index stood at 44 out of 100, its lowest level since September, reflecting declining speculative interest across the cryptocurrency market.
