Bitcoin held above $80,000 after briefly approaching the level during Asian trading, while a sharp sell-off in South Korean stocks pushed altcoins lower. The Kospi plunged 8%, the CoinDesk 80 Index dropped 2.2%, and all but six constituents of the CoinDesk 100 ended up trading in negative territory.
Bitcoin traded near $81,200, down approximately 0.5% since midnight UTC after recovering from an earlier loss of around 1%. Buyers stepped in shortly after 02:30 UTC, lifting the price from just above $80,000. That level was close to Bitcoin’s October 8 low of approximately $80,300.
Asian equities led the broader market decline. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 8%, triggering circuit breakers, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost about 1%. The move followed a 1.9% decline in the Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday.
Altcoins suffered greater losses than Bitcoin. Ether slipped 2% to around $2,370, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) fell 2.2%. The more Bitcoin-focused CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5) declined by a comparatively modest 0.7%.
Smaller tokens experienced sharper selling. Pump.fun’s PUMP token plunged 9.4%, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index dropped 4%. The weakness left all but six assets in the CoinDesk 100 trading lower.
Federal Reserve policy expectations also shifted following Wednesday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation report. CME FedWatch data showed the probability of an October rate increase briefly climbing to almost 47%, compared with approximately 22% before the release. Those odds subsequently declined to around 26%, leaving Treasury yields and interest-rate expectations as important market indicators ahead of the U.S. trading session.
Derivatives Market: Liquidations and Positioning
Crypto futures liquidations approach $1 billion. Nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency futures positions were liquidated over 24 hours as traders reacted to the latest inflation figures. The total had been around $136 million a day earlier, highlighting the scale of forced position closures and the vulnerability of leveraged traders during the sell-off.
Ether long positions face greater pressure. Liquidations in Ether exceeded those in Bitcoin. Approximately $200 million in ETH long positions were forcibly closed, compared with around $115 million in BTC longs. The difference suggests that leveraged bullish positions in Ether were more heavily affected by the market decline.
Silver futures see more liquidations than Zcash. Perpetual futures tied to silver, identified by the XAG ticker, recorded more liquidations than Zcash (ZEC). The comparison reflects the growing availability and trading activity of traditional financial assets on cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Futures volume surges as open interest remains steady. Total crypto futures volume over 24 hours climbed 61% to $252 billion, while open interest remained broadly unchanged at approximately $139.6 billion. This pattern suggests that much of the activity involved existing positions being closed or traded between participants rather than a substantial increase in aggregate leverage. The taker long/short volume ratio remained tilted toward sellers, with short-side volume accounting for 51.67%, little changed from 52% the previous day.
Bitcoin futures positions grow as spot prices fall. Bitcoin’s spot price declined by more than 2% over 24 hours, even as dollar-denominated futures open interest increased 1.6%. Because open interest is measured in dollars, the combination implies that the number of outstanding contracts rose by approximately 3.7%. This points to additional positions entering the market during the decline.
However, the 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remained negative for Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies, indicating that aggressive selling was dominant. The additional positions may therefore include bearish bets, although open interest alone cannot identify whether traders are positioned long or short. Bitcoin’s perpetual funding rate remained positive, meaning long-position holders continued paying funding to shorts.
Ether and Solana display similar trends. Futures open interest for ETH and SOL changed little despite both assets experiencing larger spot-price declines than Bitcoin. Stable dollar-denominated open interest alongside falling prices suggests that the number of outstanding contracts increased roughly in line with the respective price declines. Both cryptocurrencies also showed negative CVD readings while funding rates remained positive.
Dogecoin and NEAR see positions unwind. Open interest in DOGE and NEAR declined considerably more than their spot prices. This suggests traders were closing positions and removing capital from the market rather than experiencing only a decline in the dollar value of their holdings.
Bitcoin implied volatility remains above 40%. The BVIV index stayed slightly above 40% for a second consecutive day, recovering from recent lows around 34%. The increase points to stronger demand for options as traders prepare for further price swings. However, implied volatility remains well below the elevated levels seen during the market turmoil in February and June. Ether’s volatility index followed a similar pattern.
Bitcoin options show demand for both upside exposure and protection. On Deribit, call options with strike prices of $90,000 and $86,000 ranked among Bitcoin’s five most actively traded options over 24 hours. The other three contracts in the top five were puts. Calls at prices above the current market can reflect expectations of a rebound, while puts are often used to hedge against further declines. Ether options activity appeared more defensive, with puts leading its trading rankings.
Token Watch
Pump.fun records the steepest decline among leading tokens. PUMP, the token associated with the Solana-based memecoin launchpad, dropped 9.4%, making it the worst performer in the CoinDesk 100. Weakness extended to other Solana ecosystem tokens, with Jito’s JTO falling 6.2% and Jupiter’s JUP losing 6.1%. Solana itself declined a more modest 1.1% to approximately $103.
Pyth Network continues to advance. PYTH gained 2.8%, extending a rally that began on October 8 after its decentralized autonomous organization voted to direct all product revenue toward monthly token buybacks. CoinMarketCap data showed approximately $96 million in PYTH trading volume over 24 hours, an increase of 67% compared with the preceding period.
Starknet recovers after its recent sell-off. STRK climbed 11%, rebounding after a 17% decline on October 13. The token remained 278% above its yearly low of $0.021, recorded on August 16.
Canton, Optimism and Aerodrome move lower. Canton’s CC token declined 7.3%, Optimism’s OP lost 7%, and Aerodrome’s AERO dropped 6.4%. Limited liquidity across the altcoin market continued to contribute to the weakness in smaller digital assets.
Several larger tokens prove more resilient. Tron’s TRX traded relatively flat, Monero’s XMR slipped 0.55%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE fell 0.96% to approximately $80.
