Bitcoin Stabilises Near $81,700 as Altcoins Take the Lead
Bitcoin has steadied around the $81,700 mark, recovering from a low near $81,000 and rising 0.5% since midnight UTC, as Asian equity markets found their footing following a sharp technology-led selloff on Thursday. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation is once again trading at $84,459.46, according to CoinDesk data, but the more notable story of the session sits further down the risk curve.
Altcoins moved faster than bitcoin throughout the session. The CoinDesk 80 altcoin index added 0.7%, while the broader CD80 measure rose 1.4% and the memecoin index climbed 2.9%. The standout performer was Pepe, the frog-themed memecoin, which jumped 13% to lead the rebound. Ether added a comparatively modest 0.9% to trade at $2,490.55.
The recovery follows a bruising session for global tech shares. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6% on Thursday, its steepest decline since June, dragging risk assets broadly lower. Asian markets stabilised overnight: South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3%, China’s CSI 300 rose 1.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped just 0.25%.
For more on the leading cryptocurrency, see our Bitcoin coverage.
Traders Turn Their Gaze to the Fed
Attention now shifts to the Federal Reserve’s meeting scheduled for 27-28 October. Brent crude holding near $113 a barrel continues to stoke inflation concerns, adding a layer of complexity to the central bank’s calculus and keeping rate-sensitive assets on edge.
Exchange-traded fund flows are also in focus. US spot bitcoin ETFs shed $635 million on Thursday, according to data from SoSoValue, reversing course after pulling in more than $1 billion across the first three days of the week. The swing suggests institutional appetite for crypto exposure remains volatile, with allocators quick to retrench when equity markets wobble.
The combination of a firm oil price, an outflow day for ETFs, and a looming Fed decision frames the current recovery as cautious rather than emphatic. Bitcoin’s 0.5% gain is modest by the standards of recent sessions, and the fact that memecoins are leading the charge is itself a signal worth parsing.
Derivatives Markets Point to a Cautious Rebuild
Futures activity has cooled following Thursday’s turbulence. Aggregate 24-hour trading volume across crypto futures fell 19%, while liquidations dropped 23% after a day of sharp spikes. Open interest rose 1% after declining the previous day, with bitcoin’s price roughly flat, suggesting traders are opening fresh positions rather than simply closing old ones.
The long-to-short volume ratio tilts marginally towards shorts at 51.6% against 48.4%, indicating sellers remain active at the margins even as the market stabilises.
The open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD), which tracks whether market orders skew towards buying or selling, points to a bullish rebalance. Most tokens finished Thursday below zero, with the weakest reading around -0.12%. Today, nearly all sit within 0.05% of zero. The exception is XAUT, the tokenised gold instrument, which remains at roughly -0.25%, indicating persistent market selling.
Bitcoin and ether both show signs of quiet recovery. Open interest in futures for both coins rose roughly 1% while prices barely moved, pointing to moderate growth in new positioning. Liquidations fell sharply, dropping by around two-thirds in bitcoin and a third in ether. Bitcoin’s funding rate edged up from 0.0041% to 0.0067%, meaning longs are paying slightly more to hold positions, while ether funding was unchanged.
Funding Flips Positive Across Major Tokens
Funding dynamics in several large-cap tokens have turned. BNB and SUI saw shorts paying longs yesterday at rates of -0.0048% and -0.0036% respectively, with DOGE stable. Today all three have flipped positive, and funding has risen across most leading tokens. Prices for all three have risen, meaning longs rather than shorts now foot the bill for holding positions.
The picture is less rosy elsewhere. De-risking continues in ZEC, SOL, XRP and DOGE, where open interest has fallen by significantly more than price moves alone would explain, confirming genuine position closure rather than passive erosion. ZEC shows the sharpest drop, with open interest down 8% against a 1.5% price decline. It is the second consecutive day of significant exits, pointing to a sustained outflow of capital.
Monero’s funding spike has also faded. XMR funding was the most sought-after on the heatmap at the start of the 24-hour period but has since returned to normal levels, suggesting the earlier build-up in leverage has unwound.
Commodities continue to attract fresh money in perpetual markets. Open interest rose in gold, silver and crude oil for the second day running. Gold and silver prices fell, with positive funding in both, meaning longs are paying. Crude oil open interest rose alongside a 1.4% price gain, with negative funding indicating shorts are paying.
Options Market Splits Between Bitcoin Optimism and Ether Caution
The options market reveals a striking divergence in sentiment between the two largest cryptocurrencies.
In bitcoin, the most heavily traded contract is the $98,000 strike call expiring 27 November, followed by the $88,000 strike call for 25 December. Five of the six most active bitcoin contracts are calls, all struck above the current market. The lone put among them is the $76,000 strike expiring 30 October. Volume data does not indicate whether the trades were purchases or sales, but the concentration of upside strikes suggests positioning for, or hedging against, a move higher.
Ether tells the opposite story. Puts occupy the top two slots, led by the $2,200 strike put expiring 26 October, with roughly 9,000 contracts traded.
The 25-delta skew reinforces the divide. One-week ether skew sits near 13%, meaning puts are trading substantially richer than calls, and that reading has climbed since the start of October. Bitcoin’s one-week skew has fallen to roughly 4%, down from a peak of about 14% in the middle of the month. Fears of a bitcoin price drop have eased, while ether fears have intensified, consistent with the active demand for ether puts.
What It Means
The session paints a picture of a market catching its breath rather than declaring a trend. Bitcoin’s recovery to $81,700 is real but restrained, and the leadership of memecoins, with Pepe up 13%, suggests speculative capital is moving first while larger institutional flows wait on the sidelines ahead of the Fed’s 27-28 October meeting.
The derivatives backdrop is broadly constructive. Falling liquidations, gently rising open interest, funding rates flipping positive across major tokens, and a CVD returning to balance all point to traders rebuilding positions rather than fleeing them. Bitcoin’s options skew, down from mid-month peaks, indicates downside fears have receded.
The caveats are equally clear. Thursday’s $635 million ETF outflow shows how quickly institutional sentiment can turn, and ether’s elevated put skew signals that not everyone shares bitcoin’s renewed calm. With Brent near $113 and inflation worries simmering, the Fed’s decision next week remains the pivotal variable. Until then, a memecoin-led rally is best treated as a sign of risk appetite returning, not yet as evidence of a durable floor beneath it.
