Bitcoin Holds Near $83K as Lighter Slides 17% on Robinhood Perps Plan

Bitcoin traded near $83,000 as the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield moved above 5.6%, while DeFi tokens gave back some of Tuesday’s gains and Lighter dropped sharply following Robinhood’s announcement of U.S. perpetual futures.

Bitcoin was trading at $83,164 during the European morning, down 0.57% since midnight UTC. The broader crypto market was evenly split, with 50 of the CoinDesk 100 constituents posting gains and the other 50 trading lower.

Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin was down about 1%, retreating from a Tuesday U.S. session high of $84,400. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) declined 2.3%, making it the weakest performer among the index family. Aave fell 4.4% after surging 11% on Tuesday to lead the previous session’s gains.

Traditional markets were stronger in early trading. S&P 500 futures rose 0.27%, while the Stoxx 600 gained 0.74%. The moves came despite the 30-year Treasury yield climbing above 5.6% Tuesday, its highest level since June 2002. The 10-year Treasury yield also reached a new high for 2007 at around 5.3%, according to CNBC.

Brent crude was trading at $96.43 after declining Tuesday, remaining below the $100 level that coincided with Monday’s crypto market selloff.

There was no clear catalyst behind bitcoin’s modest morning decline. Traders were turning their attention to the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, scheduled for release before Wall Street opened. Micron earnings were also due after the market close.

Bitcoin has remained in a consolidation phase since its failed breakout attempt on Sept. 21, when it briefly approached $87,300.

Derivatives positioning

Leverage across crypto markets continued to decline. The market-wide taker long/short volume ratio remained balanced for a second consecutive day after sellers held a slight advantage two days earlier, at 46.9% versus 53.1%.

Total liquidations fell to roughly $196 million from $389 million the previous day. Open interest declined to $147 billion from almost $150 billion two days earlier, while trading volume dropped 16.9% to $181 billion, according to CoinGlass.

Bitcoin’s advance also continues to appear driven primarily by spot demand rather than rising leverage. Futures open interest declined to 625,000 BTC, its lowest level since Jan. 1, from 644,000 BTC the previous day and 650,000 BTC two days earlier.

The decline in futures positioning began in June even as bitcoin climbed from $57,000 to above $80,000, suggesting that spot buying has been a larger driver of the rally.

Binance traders remained net bullish on bitcoin. The long/short ratio increased to 1.42 among retail traders and 1.49 among whale accounts, up from 1.24 and 1.31, respectively, the previous day. Whale positions also edged higher to 1.90 from 1.88 but remained below levels above 2.3 recorded earlier this month. A ratio above 1 indicates that long positions outnumber shorts.

Ether futures leverage continued to decline, with open interest falling to about 13.08 million ETH, the lowest level since early March. Futures activity in SOL and XRP remained subdued, extending the quiet trend seen throughout the week.

Speculative activity showed signs of returning elsewhere in the market. PUMP gained nearly 16% over 24 hours, making it the strongest performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, while its futures open interest also increased. The combination indicates that new leveraged capital is moving into the token. Historically, repeated patterns of rising token prices and leveraged positioning in speculative assets have coincided with short-term market tops.

HBAR posted the opposite pattern, dropping 16% over 24 hours while futures open interest continued climbing to fresh highs. Funding rates turned negative from slightly above zero two days earlier, indicating greater demand for short positions.

Some traders could also be using shorts to hedge existing spot holdings against a deeper decline. HBAR’s 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD was the most negative among major cryptocurrencies, pointing to aggressive selling.

POL and CAKE also recorded deeply negative funding rates, meaning short sellers were paying to maintain their positions. LIT was at the other end of the spectrum, with strongly positive funding.

Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility measures remained subdued, continuing a pattern seen throughout the week. Traders continued to price relatively orderly market conditions despite rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and weaker gold.

Options activity on Deribit showed demand for both bitcoin calls and puts, reversing the clear call bias seen the previous day. The $70,000 BTC call was the most actively traded contract over the 24-hour period.

In ether options, the $3,000 call was the most traded contract for a second consecutive day.

Token talk

Lighter (LIT), the token associated with the perpetuals exchange, dropped 17% over 24 hours and was down another 5.6% since midnight UTC, bringing its market capitalization to $2.1 billion.

The decline came after Robinhood announced plans to offer U.S. perpetual futures through its own derivatives arm.

Interoperability tokens were among the strongest performers. Quant (QNT) gained 7.5% since midnight and led the CoinDesk 100, lifting its 24-hour gain to 14%. LayerZero (ZRO), a cross-chain messaging token, climbed 13% over the same period.

Memecoins also advanced, with Bonk (BONK) rising 5.9% and dogwifhat (WIF) gaining 3.4% since midnight. PUMP, the token associated with memecoin launchpad pump.fun, declined 2.7% but remained up 14% over 24 hours.

DeFi tokens were mixed following Tuesday’s rally, which was fueled by speculation about an Aave token burn. Aave fell 3% since midnight, while Uniswap (UNI) and Ondo (ONDO) posted smaller declines.

Curve (CRV) gained 3.6%, while liquid-staking token Lido (LDO) and Ethena (ENA) each rose 1.8%.

CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” index stood at 61 out of 100, remaining above the 60 mark for a fifth consecutive day. The index remains in bullish territory as investors continue shifting attention toward altcoins while bitcoin consolidates. It has not stayed at these levels for more than three months.

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