Bitcoin briefly dropped toward $80,000 as South Korea’s Kospi index plunged 8%, while the CoinDesk 80 Index declined 2.2% and all but six constituents of the CoinDesk 100 traded lower.
Bitcoin was trading around $81,200, down approximately 0.5% since midnight UTC after recovering from an earlier decline of about 1%. Buyers entered the market just above $80,000 at around 02:30 UTC, near the October 8 low of approximately $80,300.
Asian stock markets led the downturn. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 8%, triggering circuit breakers, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell around 1%. The move extended Wednesday’s 1.9% decline in the Nasdaq Composite.
Altcoins faced greater selling pressure than Bitcoin. Ether declined 2% to approximately $2,370, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) dropped 2.2%. The Bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5) performed better, falling around 0.7%.
Losses were more pronounced among smaller cryptocurrencies. Pump.fun’s PUMP token plunged 9.4%, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index fell 4%. The decline left all but six constituents of the CoinDesk 100 in negative territory.
Expectations for Federal Reserve policy also shifted following Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected inflation report. On CME’s FedWatch tool, the implied probability of an October interest-rate increase briefly climbed to nearly 47%, up from approximately 22% before the release. The odds have since retreated to around 26%, leaving Treasury yields and rate-hike expectations as important indicators ahead of the U.S. market open.
Derivatives Positioning
Crypto liquidations approach $1 billion. Nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency futures positions were liquidated over 24 hours as markets reacted to the stronger U.S. inflation figures. That was a sharp increase from approximately $136 million recorded a day earlier, suggesting traders entered the data release with substantial exposure.
Ether longs suffered heavier losses than Bitcoin longs. Ether recorded more liquidations than Bitcoin, with approximately $200 million in ETH long positions forcibly closed, compared with around $115 million in BTC longs. The difference points to greater exposure to leveraged bullish positions in Ether.
Silver futures surpassed Zcash in liquidations. Perpetual futures linked to silver (XAG) recorded more liquidations than Zcash (ZEC), a major privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The development highlights the growing presence of traditional financial assets on crypto trading platforms.
Trading volume surged while open interest remained broadly stable. Crypto futures volume over 24 hours reached $252 billion, an increase of 61%, while open interest remained largely unchanged at approximately $139.6 billion. This suggests much of the activity involved closing or reshuffling existing positions rather than a substantial increase in overall leverage. The taker long/short volume ratio continued to favor bearish trading, with short-side volume accounting for 51.67%, little changed from 52% the previous day.
Bitcoin futures activity increases despite falling prices. Bitcoin’s spot price declined by more than 2% over 24 hours, while its dollar-denominated futures open interest rose 1.6%. Because open interest is measured in dollars, the combination implies that the number of outstanding contracts increased by roughly 3.7%. This suggests new positions were being opened during the decline. However, negative 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) readings for Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies indicate that aggressive selling remained dominant. The new positions may therefore include shorts, although open interest alone cannot reveal whether traders are bullish or bearish. Bitcoin’s perpetual funding rate remained positive, meaning long-position holders were still paying shorts.
Ether and Solana show similar positioning patterns. Futures open interest for ETH and SOL remained relatively stable even as their spot prices fell more sharply than Bitcoin’s. Stable dollar-denominated open interest alongside declining prices implies that the number of outstanding contracts increased by approximately the same proportion as the price drop. Both assets also recorded negative CVD readings while funding rates remained positive.
DOGE and NEAR traders reduce exposure. Open interest in Dogecoin and NEAR fell considerably more than their respective spot prices. This suggests traders were actively closing positions and withdrawing capital, rather than simply seeing the dollar value of their positions decline with the market.
Bitcoin implied volatility remains above 40%. The BVIV index stayed slightly above 40% for a second consecutive day, rising from recent lows near 34%. The increase points to stronger demand for options, although volatility remains well below the panic levels recorded in February and June. Ether’s implied volatility index displayed a similar pattern.
Bitcoin options show both rebound bets and hedging. On Deribit, Bitcoin call options with strike prices of $90,000 and $86,000 ranked among the most actively traded contracts over 24 hours. The other three contracts in the top five were puts. Calls at prices above the current market indicate bets on a potential recovery, while puts can serve as downside protection. Ether options activity was more defensive, with puts leading the rankings.
Token Developments
Pump.fun leads losses across major tokens. PUMP, the token associated with the Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, fell 9.4%, marking the steepest decline in the CoinDesk 100. Other assets in the Solana ecosystem also came under pressure: Jito’s JTO dropped 6.2%, and Jupiter’s JUP lost 6.1%. Solana’s SOL declined more modestly, falling 1.1% to approximately $103.
Pyth Network extends its rally. PYTH, the token associated with the oracle network, gained 2.8%, continuing an advance that began on October 8. The rally followed a vote by its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to allocate all product revenue toward monthly token buybacks. CoinMarketCap data showed roughly $96 million in PYTH trading volume over 24 hours, up 67% from the previous period.
Starknet rebounds following a sharp decline. STRK rose 11%, recovering some ground after falling 17% on October 13. Despite the recent volatility, the token remained 278% above its yearly low of $0.021, recorded on August 16.
Several altcoins face further selling. Canton’s CC token dropped 7.3%, Optimism’s OP declined 7%, and Aerodrome’s AERO fell 6.4%. Limited liquidity across the altcoin market continues to weigh on prices.
Larger cryptocurrencies show relative resilience. Tron’s TRX was little changed, Monero’s XMR fell 0.55%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE declined 0.96% to approximately $80.
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