Bitcoin holds above $80,000 as Asian stock rout drags altcoins lower

Bitcoin BTC$80,955.28 changes hands at $81,200, sliding about 0.5% since midnight UTC after paring a 1% drop from earlier in the session, with buyers stepping in just past the $80,000 mark around 02:30 UTC, near the October 8 trough of roughly $80,300.

Asian stock markets set the overall tone, as South Korea’s Kospi plummeted 8% and activated circuit breakers while Nasdaq 100 index futures dipped approximately 1%, compounding Wednesday’s 1.9% decline in the Nasdaq Composite.

Alternative cryptocurrencies suffered steeper declines, with ether ETH$2,361.50 retreating 2.0% near $2,370. The CoinDesk 80 (CD80) dropped 2.2%, whereas the bitcoin-focused CoinDesk 5 (CD5) dropped about 0.7%.

More significant shifts were visible among lower-capitalization tokens, where pump.fun PUMP$0.004259 declined 9.4% as the CoinDesk Memecoin Index dropped 4.0%, leaving all but six members of the CD100 in negative territory.

The probability of an October Federal Reserve interest rate increase surged to nearly 47% on CME’s FedWatch following Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected inflation data, up from roughly 22% beforehand. It has since returned to approximately 26%, leaving Treasury yields and hike pricing as the primary catalysts heading into the U.S. market open.

Derivatives positioning

Liquidations soared to nearly $1 billion following a strong inflation print: Roughly $1 billion in crypto futures wagers were liquidated over a 24-hour window as the market retreated following Wednesday’s higher-than-anticipated U.S. inflation figures, escalating from about $136 million a day prior. This surge highlights the overcrowded positioning leading into the announcement.
Ether experienced a heavier blow than bitcoin: ETH recorded higher liquidation volumes than bitcoin. Long positions totaling $200 million were liquidated in ether, eclipsing the $115 million cleared in bitcoin. This disparity indicates heavier long leverage within ether.
Silver surpassed a leading privacy coin in liquidations: XAG (silver) perpetual futures registered greater liquidations than zcash (ZEC), a premier privacy coin, highlighting the rising adoption of traditional finance assets across crypto venues.
Trading activity surged while open interest remained stable: Daily crypto futures volume reached $252 billion, marking a 61% expansion over the period, while open interest (OI) stayed essentially flat at $139.6 billion. This indicates that activity primarily stemmed from closing or churning existing positions rather than assembling fresh leverage. The taker long-to-short volume ratio tilted bearish once more, with shorts representing 51.67% of the flow, virtually unchanged from 52% the previous day.
Traders continue adding to bitcoin positions amidst price declines: BTC spot prices are down over 2% across 24 hours, yet notional futures OI rose by 1.6%. Because OI is denominated in dollars, this suggests contract counts grew by roughly 3.7%, pointing to net new capital entering during the selloff. The 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remains negative alongside negative figures for most coins, implying the incoming capital leans short. However, open interest does not indicate direction. BTC’s perpetual funding rate remains positive, meaning long traders are still paying to maintain their positions.
Ether and solana display a matching configuration: ETH and SOL futures OI remained largely constant despite spot price drops exceeding bitcoin’s. Flat dollar-denominated OI during a price contraction signifies contract volumes expanded roughly in line with the price drop, serving as another indicator of new positions. Both assets also exhibit negative CVDs alongside positive funding rates.
DOGE and NEAR undergo de-risking: Their open interest reductions far outpace their spot price drops, signifying that market participants are closing positions and pulling capital out rather than merely absorbing markdowns.
Bitcoin implied volatility stays above 40%: The BVIV index held just past 40% for a second consecutive day, climbing from recent lows near 34%. This elevation signals renewed demand for options, which remain well below the panic extremes observed in February and June. Ether’s volatility index mirrors this trend.
Options flow exhibits two-way action in bitcoin and defensive positioning in ether: On Deribit, BTC call options at the $90K and $86K strike prices lead 24-hour options volume rankings, whereas the remaining top five slots are filled by puts. Calls above current market levels reflect bets on a recovery, while puts serve as hedging instruments. In the case of ETH, puts dominate the top of the list.

Token talk

Pump.fun PUMP$0.004259, the Solana memecoin platform token, dropped 9.4%, marking the steepest decline within the CD100, while the broader Solana ecosystem also faced downward pressure. Jito JTO$0.4551 retreated 6.2% and jupiter (JUP) dropped 6.1%, whereas solana (SOL) eased just 1.1% to approximately $103.
Pyth network PYTH$0.08633, an oracle asset, advanced 2.8%, extending an upward move that started October 8 after its DAO voted to channel all product revenue into monthly buyback programs. CoinMarketCap figures indicate roughly $96 million in PYTH trading volume over 24 hours, representing a 67% increase compared to the prior 24-hour window.
Starknet STRK$0.07692 climbed 11%, staging a recovery after a 17% retreat on October 13. It continues to sit 278% above its yearly trough of $0.021 recorded on August 16.
Canton CC$0.1077, the institutional blockchain asset, slid 7.3%, optimism OP$0.1288 shed 7.0%, and aerodrome (AERO) fell 6.4%, as ongoing deficits in altcoin liquidity continue to pressure the sector.
Larger tokens proved more resilient, with tron TRX$0.3309 showing little change, monero (XMR) dipping 0.55%, and hyperliquid (HYPE) declining 0.96% to approximately $80.