Bitcoin approached $84,000 before pulling back during Wednesday’s trading session, while altcoins underperformed as investors awaited fresh U.S. inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $83,450 during the European morning after briefly touching $84,000 at 08:00 UTC. The cryptocurrency had recovered from Tuesday’s low of $80,970.
Most altcoins struggled to maintain momentum. The CoinDesk 80 index dropped 0.6% since midnight UTC, while the CoinDesk 20 edged up 0.2%. Nearly two-thirds of the assets tracked by the CoinDesk 100 were trading in negative territory. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index also fell to 55 from 60 a week earlier.
Market sentiment received some support after New York Fed President John Williams said he did not expect further interest rate increases in 2027, although he left open the possibility of another hike this year.
Investors are now focused on the latest U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report, the final inflation reading before the Federal Reserve’s Oct. 28 meeting. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect annual inflation to rise to 3.6% from 3.4%, CNBC reported. Meanwhile, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported average gasoline prices of $4.34 per gallon, up from $3.08 a year earlier.
S&P 500 futures advanced 0.2%, while Brent crude remained near $106 per barrel.
Crypto derivatives show reduced positioning
Trading activity in crypto futures has weakened, with 24-hour volume falling 26% to $156.79 billion. Total open interest dropped 2.27% to $140 billion, while liquidations declined by more than 80% to $136.32 million. The reduction in liquidations suggests forced selling has eased and leverage has decreased. However, short-side trades still accounted for 52% of taker volume, indicating a modest bearish bias.
Bitcoin and Ether traders have also reduced their market exposure. Open interest for BTC declined 3.5%, while ETH open interest fell 2.7% over the past 24 hours, alongside mostly flat or negative price performance. The decline in dollar-denominated open interest indicates that traders are closing positions rather than merely experiencing valuation changes caused by falling prices. Such caution is common ahead of major economic announcements.
Zcash (ZEC), by contrast, has attracted additional trading positions. Its open interest increased by more than 4%, while its spot price rose 1%. The difference suggests that new contracts account for roughly a 3% increase beyond the price effect, pointing to fresh capital entering the market. ZEC’s open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remains positive, and its annualized perpetual funding rate is close to 10%, indicating strong buying demand and long traders paying to maintain positions. Canton Network’s CC token is displaying a similar pattern.
Over the past month, leverage has increasingly shifted toward smaller altcoins. Open interest in Bitcoin and several other major cryptocurrencies has declined, while tokens such as NEAR and Wormhole have recorded significant increases. This suggests that speculative traders are moving toward assets that typically experience larger price swings.
CVD data also highlights differences in market pressure. BTC and TRX recorded the strongest readings over the past 24 hours, while UNI, SUI and NEAR posted the most negative figures among major tokens. NEAR’s combination of rising open interest and substantial net selling may indicate that traders are establishing bearish positions.
Bitcoin’s expected volatility is rising as well. Its 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, climbed to 40%, exceeding its 50-day and 100-day averages. Higher implied volatility can reflect growing demand for protection against market uncertainty. Ether’s implied volatility index also moved slightly higher.
Options positioning points to demand for downside protection in Bitcoin. The most active BTC options included puts with strike prices of $60,000, $78,000 and $75,000. Ether options activity was led by calls at $3,400 and $2,600, alongside a put at $2,300.
Altcoin performance remains uneven
Optimism (OP) declined 4.2% after rallying on Tuesday to its highest price since mid-May. The earlier gains followed Uniswap’s Unichain completing its testnet migration to OP Enterprise on Oct. 13. The mainnet transition is scheduled for Oct. 29, with Optimism expected to manage Unichain’s production infrastructure, including its sequencer.
Decentralized finance tokens were among the weakest parts of the market. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) lost 1.8% since midnight. Lido (LDO), a liquid staking token, fell 2.9%, Jito (JTO) dropped 2.8%, and Uniswap (UNI) declined 2.5%.
Some of last week’s strongest performers also reversed lower. Starknet (STRK) dropped 4.5%, Kaia (KAIA) fell 3.8%, and Celestia (TIA) lost 3.7%. Celestia had reached a 2026 high of approximately $0.63 on Saturday.
KITE, a token associated with AI-agent payments, led the gainers with a 5.3% advance. Oracle token Pyth (PYTH) climbed 4.5%, while Venice (VVV), linked to a privacy-focused AI platform, gained 2.4%. Zcash (ZEC) added another 1.7%.
