Bitcoin Maintains $80K Support as Asian Market Rout Deepens Altcoin Losses

Bitcoin held above $80,000 during Asian trading as a sharp sell-off in regional equities triggered broader weakness across the cryptocurrency market. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 8%, the CoinDesk 80 Index fell 2.2%, and only six constituents of the CoinDesk 100 managed to avoid losses.

BTC traded near $81,200, down approximately 0.5% since midnight UTC after recovering from an earlier decline of around 1%. Buying support emerged around 02:30 UTC as Bitcoin approached $80,000. The level was close to its October 8 low of approximately $80,300.

The downturn in Asian equities contributed to weaker risk sentiment. South Korea’s Kospi fell 8%, triggering circuit breakers, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined about 1%. The move extended Wednesday’s 1.9% drop in the Nasdaq Composite.

Altcoins experienced greater pressure than Bitcoin. Ether declined 2% to approximately $2,370, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) lost 2.2%. The CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5), which is more heavily weighted toward Bitcoin, fell by a smaller 0.7%.

Smaller cryptocurrencies recorded some of the steepest declines. Pump.fun’s PUMP token dropped 9.4%, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index fell 4%. The sell-off left all but six assets in the CoinDesk 100 trading lower.

Federal Reserve policy expectations remained a key factor influencing market sentiment. Following Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report, the implied probability of an October rate hike briefly climbed to nearly 47% on CME’s FedWatch tool, up from approximately 22% before the release. The odds later eased to around 26%, leaving Treasury yields and interest-rate expectations in focus ahead of the U.S. market open.

Derivatives Market Sees Heavy Liquidations

Crypto futures liquidations approach $1 billion. Nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency futures positions were liquidated over 24 hours as traders reacted to the latest U.S. inflation figures. That compared with approximately $136 million a day earlier, highlighting the risks associated with leveraged trading around major economic announcements.

Ether long positions suffer larger losses than Bitcoin longs. ETH long liquidations reached approximately $200 million, compared with around $115 million for BTC. The difference indicates that bullish traders using leverage in Ether faced greater forced closures during the market decline.

Silver futures liquidations exceed those for Zcash. Perpetual futures linked to silver, identified by the XAG ticker, recorded more liquidations than Zcash (ZEC), a leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The development reflects the growing availability of traditional financial assets on crypto trading platforms.

Futures volume climbs while open interest remains steady. Cryptocurrency futures trading volume over 24 hours jumped 61% to $252 billion, while open interest remained relatively unchanged at approximately $139.6 billion. The combination suggests that increased trading activity largely involved existing positions being closed or adjusted rather than a major expansion in total leverage. Short-side taker volume accounted for 51.67% of activity, maintaining a bearish tilt that was little changed from the previous day’s 52%.

Bitcoin futures exposure increases as spot prices decline. Bitcoin’s spot price fell by more than 2% over 24 hours, while its dollar-denominated futures open interest rose 1.6%. Because open interest is measured in dollars, this combination implies that the number of outstanding contracts increased by roughly 3.7%, suggesting fresh positions were opened during the decline.

At the same time, Bitcoin’s 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remained negative, as did readings for most other cryptocurrencies. This points to continued aggressive selling. Some of the new positions may be bearish bets, although open interest alone cannot determine whether traders are positioned long or short. Bitcoin’s perpetual funding rate remained positive, meaning traders holding long positions continued to pay funding to short-position holders.

Ether and Solana show similar derivatives activity. Futures open interest for ETH and SOL remained broadly stable despite sharper declines in their spot prices than Bitcoin’s. Stable dollar-denominated open interest during a price decline suggests an increase in the number of outstanding contracts. Both cryptocurrencies also recorded negative CVD readings while their funding rates remained positive.

Dogecoin and NEAR see traders cut exposure. Open interest in DOGE and NEAR declined substantially more than their spot prices. This suggests traders were actively closing positions and withdrawing capital, rather than the changes reflecting only falling token valuations.

Bitcoin implied volatility stays above 40%. The BVIV index remained slightly above 40% for a second consecutive day, rebounding from recent lows near 34%. The increase suggests renewed demand for options as traders prepare for further price fluctuations. However, implied volatility remained below the more extreme levels recorded during market turmoil in February and June. Ether’s volatility index showed a similar pattern.

Bitcoin options reflect both recovery bets and hedging. On Deribit, Bitcoin call options with strike prices of $90,000 and $86,000 ranked among the five most actively traded contracts over 24 hours. The other three contracts in the top five were puts. Calls with strike prices above the current market can indicate expectations of a rebound, while puts are often used to hedge against further declines. Ether options activity appeared more defensive, with puts dominating the leading contracts.

Token Watch: PUMP Falls as PYTH and STRK Advance

Pump.fun leads losses among major cryptocurrencies. PUMP, the token associated with the Solana-based memecoin launchpad, fell 9.4%, making it the weakest performer in the CoinDesk 100. Other Solana ecosystem tokens also declined, with Jito’s JTO losing 6.2% and Jupiter’s JUP dropping 6.1%. Solana’s SOL fell by a more modest 1.1% to approximately $103.

Pyth Network extends its rally. PYTH rose 2.8%, continuing an advance that began on October 8 after its decentralized autonomous organization voted to direct all product revenue toward monthly token buybacks. CoinMarketCap data showed roughly $96 million in PYTH trading volume over 24 hours, an increase of 67% from the previous period.

Starknet recovers from its recent decline. STRK climbed 11% after losing 17% on October 13. Despite the recent volatility, the token remained 278% above its yearly low of $0.021, recorded on August 16.

Canton, Optimism and Aerodrome remain under pressure. Canton’s CC token fell 7.3%, Optimism’s OP declined 7%, and Aerodrome’s AERO lost 6.4%. Limited liquidity across the altcoin market continued to weigh on prices.

Larger tokens show relative resilience. Tron’s TRX traded largely unchanged, Monero’s XMR declined 0.55%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE slipped 0.96% to approximately $80.