Crypto Markets Stabilize as BTC, ETH Bounce From Intraday Lows Pre-FOMC

Crypto Recovers Modestly as Global Risk Appetite Wanes Ahead of FOMC Minutes

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) bounced slightly from overnight lows on Tuesday, even as global markets showed signs of risk aversion. U.S. stock futures slipped, while Japanese government bond yields surged to multi-decade highs — developments that could weigh on appetite for riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies.

The CoinDesk 20 Index declined 1.5% over 24 hours, with the broader CoinDesk 80 Index also down 1.4%, reflecting weakness across large-cap and mid-cap tokens.

Investors are now focused on the upcoming release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes, expected later today. There’s also growing attention on the U.S. Treasury General Account (TGA), which is currently being replenished. Market participants worry that rising TGA balances may drain liquidity and pressure asset prices across the board.

Meanwhile, institutional activity in the crypto space is picking up: Point72 Asset Management and ExodusPoint Capital disclosed equity positions in Alt5 Sigma, a crypto payments firm, according to filings reported by Bloomberg.

Derivatives: Bullish Leverage Gets Flushed

Roughly $448 million in leveraged crypto futures positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, the majority being long positions, suggesting a significant reduction in bullish exposure.

• Open interest has declined for BTC, DOGE, and XRP, while holding steady for ETH and rising for tokens like LINK, HYPE, and SUI.
• Funding rates for most large-cap tokens remain mildly positive, signaling a market still biased toward long positions. However, ADA and XMR are now seeing negative rates.
• Solana futures on the CME remain elevated, with OI above 4.6 million SOL and the annualized three-month basis jumping from 12% to 16%, highlighting continued bullish demand.

BTC’s open interest is rebounding, hitting 145.76K BTC, the highest since late July. ETH open interest is approaching 2 million ETH, although futures premiums remain muted. On Deribit, short- and medium-term put options on BTC and ETH continue to trade at premiums, showing lingering downside protection demand.

On Paradigm’s OTC network, there’s been increased flow into BTC and ETH puts, including spreads and calendar strategies.

Solana’s Launchpad Wars: Pump.fun Surges, Competitors Fade

Solana-based launchpad Pump.fun has surpassed $800 million in lifetime revenue, largely from its 1% trading fee, according to Dune Analytics. Daily earnings still average over $1 million, reinforcing its dominance among token issuance platforms.

The platform originally monetized through token graduations to Raydium, but now earns directly via its proprietary DEX, PumpSwap. Despite rising competition, the model has proven resilient.

Pump’s $600 million ICO last month sold out in just 12 minutes. The platform is now conducting above-market buybacks of its token, a move designed to stabilize trading and reinforce investor confidence.

Competitor LetsBonk, which briefly overtook Pump in graduated tokens due to its LaunchLab integration and Bonk community support, has seen daily revenue collapse to under $30,000 from recent highs of $1 million.

A new entrant, Token Mill, is attempting to stand out with its “King of the Mill” mechanism — using fees to buy and burn the top-traded token every 30 minutes. The aim is to gamify market volatility and drive user engagement.

Meanwhile, Solana has lost its title as the leading memecoin ecosystem to Coinbase’s Base chain. On Monday, Base hosted 58,000 new token launches, compared to 33,000 on Solana, thanks in part to integrations with Zora and decentralized social tooling.

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