Bitcoin Falls Behind Equities as Markets Brace for Fresh CPI Figures

Bitcoin continued to trade defensively on Tuesday despite a strong rally across U.S. equity markets on Monday. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $201 million in net withdrawals, while investors turned their focus toward October’s U.S. inflation report, which could provide fresh clues about the economic outlook and interest rate expectations.

Bitcoin (BTC) was changing hands near $74,200 after moving lower since midnight UTC. The cryptocurrency briefly reached an overnight low of approximately $74,100 before stabilizing. Traders remained cautious ahead of the latest inflation figures, which are expected to show that consumer prices increased at a slower pace in October.

Ether (ETH) dropped 1.4%, while the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) index registered a 0.2% decline. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) moved against the broader trend, adding 0.4%.

The October U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is due at 13:30 UTC. Dow Jones survey estimates suggest headline inflation will rise 0.3%, while core CPI is expected to increase 0.2%. Both projections are below September’s gains of 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively, pointing to a potential easing in inflationary pressures.

U.S. stocks recovered strongly during Monday’s session. The S&P 500 delivered its largest daily gain since April 8, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.7%, recovering some losses from last week’s AI-related technology selloff. Bitcoin failed to participate in the rebound and remained largely flat over the preceding 24 hours.

Farside Investors data showed that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded $201 million in net outflows on Monday. BlackRock’s IBIT led the withdrawals, with investors pulling $213.2 million from the fund. This extended its losing streak to seven consecutive trading sessions.

Crypto derivatives market signals

Liquidation activity cools: Total crypto futures liquidations dropped approximately 84% to $184 million over the past 24 hours, down from more than $1 billion on Monday. Futures trading volume also decreased 8.55% to $165.2 billion, whereas open interest edged up 0.59% to $128.4 billion. The figures indicate that leveraged market activity has slowed significantly. Meanwhile, the taker long/short ratio remained almost evenly balanced, with buying orders representing 49.69% and selling orders accounting for 50.31%.

Positive funding rates indicate continued long positioning: Annualized funding rates remained slightly above zero for most major digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ether. This suggests that long-position holders are paying funding fees to traders betting on price declines. GRAM, the token previously known as Toncoin, was a major exception, with funding rates hovering near -60%, reflecting a strong imbalance toward short positions.

CVD data highlights contrasting trading pressure: Cumulative volume delta (CVD), which measures aggressive market buying against selling and is adjusted for open interest in this dataset, showed mixed conditions across cryptocurrencies. GRAM, Hedera (HBAR) and Tron (TRX) registered the strongest buying pressure through market orders. Meanwhile, Zcash (ZEC), Uniswap (UNI) and XRP recorded the most pronounced selling activity.

Open interest increases modestly for major assets: Bitcoin’s notional open interest rose 0.70% alongside a 0.25% price increase. Ether open interest advanced 0.72% even though its price slipped 0.35%. Solana (SOL) recorded a 1.94% increase in open interest while declining 1.06%. These figures suggest that futures traders continued adding positions despite limited price strength across the leading cryptocurrencies.

HYPE and XRP experience reduced futures exposure: Hyperliquid’s HYPE token recorded a 1.14% drop in open interest despite gaining 1.62% in price. This suggests that traders reduced outstanding futures positions even as the token advanced. XRP open interest declined 3.83%, accompanied by a 0.69% price loss. The cryptocurrency also experienced some of the strongest aggressive selling activity in the market.

Zcash open interest falls as prices weaken: ZEC recorded a 3.31% decline in open interest alongside a 5.41% drop in price over 24 hours. Because the decline in open interest was smaller than the price decrease, the movement largely reflects the lower valuation of outstanding positions rather than a substantial withdrawal of futures capital. Nevertheless, CVD readings identified Zcash as the market’s strongest selling target.

AVAX futures positioning expands: Avalanche’s AVAX token experienced a 13% increase in open interest over 24 hours, significantly exceeding its 5% price gain. The difference suggests that fresh capital entered the derivatives market as the token moved higher. However, negative CVD readings indicated that sellers continued to dominate aggressive market orders. Annualized funding rates remained near -6%, meaning traders holding short positions were paying those on the long side. AVAX’s rally followed Ava Labs’ November 9 announcement that Avalanche would act as the core ledger for clearing and settlement on a proposed tokenized securities platform connected to the New York Stock Exchange.

Bitcoin options reflect bearish protection demand: Bitcoin’s 25-delta options skew remained positive across expiration dates, reaching approximately 10% for one-week contracts. This indicates that put options are more expensive than comparable calls, suggesting stronger demand for protection against potential price declines. One-week at-the-money implied volatility stood near 38%. The most actively traded options were also puts, particularly contracts with a $74,000 strike expiring November 13.

Ether options activity leans toward calls: Ether’s one-week options skew remained positive at around 11%, indicating that puts continued to carry a higher premium than calls. However, the most actively traded contracts were primarily call options, with the December 25 $2,600 strike leading activity. At-the-money implied volatility remained relatively stable between 53% and 54% across expiration periods.

Altcoin market developments

Avalanche (AVAX) climbed approximately 5% over the past 24 hours following the New York Stock Exchange’s selection of its blockchain infrastructure for clearing and settlement on a planned 24-hour tokenized securities platform. Despite the daily advance, AVAX remained 2.6% lower since midnight UTC.

XDC Network (XDC), a layer-1 blockchain specializing in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, emerged as the strongest performer in the CoinDesk 100 on Tuesday. The token gained 7% since midnight UTC, outperforming the majority of large-cap cryptocurrencies.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies lost momentum after recording relative strength last week. Monero (XMR) declined 7.8% over 24 hours, while Zcash (ZEC) dropped 6.3%. The weakness coincided with a shift in market interest toward blockchain projects connected to real-world asset tokenization.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) began trading on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, at 06:00 UTC. However, the new listing did not immediately translate into positive price action. HYPE declined 0.9% since midnight UTC, trading around $74.50 and remaining approximately 22% below its late-October peak of $96.

Pieverse (PIEVERSE) attracted significant market attention after surging roughly 30%, making it one of the day’s strongest-performing tokens. The project focuses on enabling AI agents to execute transactions through messaging applications such as Telegram and WhatsApp. It recently hinted on X at developing an AI agent trading desk, although the team has not officially confirmed when the product will launch.

Broader altcoin performance also remained weak. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index dropped to 40 out of 100, compared with 62 recorded a month earlier. The decline suggests that altcoins are losing ground relative to Bitcoin, with market gains becoming increasingly concentrated in a smaller group of cryptocurrencies.