Bitcoin Holds Near $82K as Markets Digest Fed Chair Warsh’s Remarks

Cryptocurrency markets maintained their recovery after Bitcoin briefly slipped below $80,000, although investment funds tracking Ether, Solana and Zcash continued to experience withdrawals.

Strive Expands Preferred Stock Offering to Raise $630 Million

Bitcoin treasury firm Strive (ASST) increased the size of its latest high-yield preferred stock offering, SATS, from 5 million shares to 7 million shares.

The offering was priced at $90 per share, generating $630 million in gross proceeds for the company.

SATS carries a 15% dividend rate, translating into an effective yield of approximately 16.67% at the $90 offering price.

Strategy Plans Conditional Daily Dividends for STRC

Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, has announced plans to begin paying dividends daily on its high-yield preferred stock, STRC, instead of distributing them monthly. The proposed change is scheduled to begin November 1, subject to shareholder approval.

A shareholder vote is currently underway, with the results expected on October 28. Strategy’s announcement remains conditional on shareholders approving the transition to daily dividend payments.

Although STRC has recovered considerably from its sharp lows earlier in the summer, the stock continues to trade slightly below its $100 par value. It closed at $99.53 on Thursday, limiting Strategy’s ability to raise additional capital for Bitcoin purchases by issuing more shares at par.

Warsh Keeps October Rate Hike Possibility Open as Market Odds Decline

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declined to indicate whether policymakers would raise interest rates at the October meeting during an overnight fireside discussion at an International Monetary Fund event.

“I don’t prejudge meetings,” Warsh said, explaining that he does not announce policy decisions in advance of the meetings at which they are made. He added that the Fed was entering a new chapter and would no longer operate that way.

Warsh defended the September rate increase, describing it as a necessary step toward bringing inflation under control.

He also identified the artificial intelligence boom as the most significant development affecting the global economy, noting that the investment surge could be creating inflationary pressure. Although AI-driven productivity improvements are expected to materialize, he cautioned that the transition would not be smooth.

Bond yields edged higher compared with the previous close. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 2.9 basis points to 5.12%.

Meanwhile, market-implied odds of an October rate hike fell to 15%, down from nearly 45% immediately after Wednesday’s consumer inflation report.

Binance Executive Calls Inflation-Driven Crypto Sell-Off Temporary

Catherine Chen, Binance’s head of institutional, characterized the latest cryptocurrency sell-off triggered by U.S. inflation data as a temporary reaction to market sentiment rather than evidence of a deeper structural problem.

“The CPI-driven selloff is a sentiment shock, not a structural break,” Chen said, referring to the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in consumer prices.

Chen expects inflation to peak around October, with more convincing signs of easing potentially emerging by March 2027. She said lower energy prices and moderating inflation could eventually help cryptocurrency markets recover.

“A difficult trading day does not determine the outlook for the next several months,” Chen added, suggesting that conditions for a market recovery could be approaching.

Zcash Rallies 11% Despite $15 Million ETF Outflow

Bitcoin climbed back above $82,000 on Friday following its brief dip below $80,000 a day earlier. Zcash (ZEC) led the broader recovery, jumping 11% to approximately $1,230, even as investors withdrew money from the only U.S.-listed spot ETF tracking the token.

Solana (SOL) and Ether each gained more than 3%, reaching approximately $106 and $2,450, respectively. Dogecoin and XRP advanced between 2% and 3%, while BNB, Hyperliquid’s HYPE and Tron rose around 1%. Bitcoin itself was up nearly 1%, according to CoinDesk data.

Despite the price rebound, investment flows into cryptocurrency funds remained weak. The U.S. spot Zcash ETF recorded approximately $15 million in outflows on Thursday, marking its fifth withdrawal day this month, according to SoSoValue.

Ether investment funds lost roughly $60 million, while Solana funds recorded nearly $10 million in outflows, extending their withdrawal streak to nine consecutive days. XRP funds also registered a modest outflow.

Bitcoin spot ETFs were an exception, attracting approximately $5 million in net inflows. However, that figure remained small compared with the $261 million withdrawn on Wednesday.

A second consecutive day of net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs would provide an additional indication that investors are supporting the cryptocurrency’s recovery from its brief decline below $80,000.

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