Bitcoin Pauses Near $83K as Robinhood Perps Push Lighter Down 17%

Bitcoin hovered near $83,000 during European hours as U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated, while DeFi tokens retreated and Lighter posted a 17% decline after Robinhood announced plans to launch U.S. perpetual futures.

BTC was trading at $83,164 in the European morning, down 0.57% since midnight UTC. The broader CoinDesk 100 market was evenly split, with 50 constituents gaining and 50 declining.

Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin had lost about 1%, falling from a Tuesday U.S. session high of $84,400. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) dropped 2.3%, the weakest performance among the index groups. Aave declined 4.4% after jumping 11% on Tuesday.

Traditional markets posted gains in morning trading. S&P 500 futures rose 0.27%, while the Stoxx 600 added 0.74%.

The move higher in stocks came despite continued pressure in the U.S. bond market. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.6% Tuesday, reaching its highest level since June 2002. The 10-year yield also touched a new 2007 high near 5.3%, according to CNBC.

Brent crude was priced at $96.43 after falling Tuesday, staying below the $100 level that had accompanied Monday’s crypto selloff.

Bitcoin’s latest decline did not appear to have a clear catalyst. Traders were focused on the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, due before the Wall Street open. Micron earnings were expected after the market close.

BTC has traded in consolidation since its failed breakout on Sept. 21, when the cryptocurrency briefly reached $87,300.

Futures positioning continues to cool

Leverage in crypto derivatives markets continued to ease. The market-wide taker long/short volume ratio remained balanced for a second day after sellers had held a narrow advantage two days earlier, with longs at 46.9% and shorts at 53.1%.

Liquidations fell to about $196 million from $389 million a day earlier. Open interest declined to $147 billion from nearly $150 billion two days earlier, while trading volume dropped 16.9% to $181 billion, according to CoinGlass.

Bitcoin futures open interest fell to 625,000 BTC, its lowest level since Jan. 1. That compares with 644,000 BTC the previous day and 650,000 BTC two days earlier.

The reduction in futures exposure began in June, even as bitcoin rose from $57,000 to above $80,000. The trend suggests that spot buying, rather than increasing leverage, has been a major source of support for bitcoin’s advance.

Binance traders continued to favor long positions. The long/short ratio climbed to 1.42 among retail traders and 1.49 among whale accounts, compared with 1.24 and 1.31, respectively, on the previous day.

Whale positioning increased marginally to 1.90 from 1.88 but remained below the readings above 2.3 recorded earlier this month. A ratio above 1 indicates more long positions than short positions.

Ether futures open interest also continued to contract, falling to about 13.08 million ETH, its lowest level since early March. SOL and XRP futures activity remained limited, extending the subdued conditions seen this week.

Speculative positioning picked up in PUMP, which gained nearly 16% over 24 hours to become the strongest performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Futures open interest also rose, indicating that new leveraged capital was entering the token.

Such a combination of rising prices and leverage in speculative assets has historically appeared around short-term market tops.

HBAR, meanwhile, fell 16% over 24 hours while futures open interest reached new highs. Funding rates moved below zero from slightly positive levels two days earlier, indicating a growing preference for short positions.

Some traders may be using those shorts to hedge spot exposure against further downside. HBAR’s 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD was the most negative among major cryptocurrencies, indicating aggressive selling.

POL and CAKE also showed deeply negative funding rates, meaning short sellers were paying to maintain their positions. LIT had the strongest positive funding at the other end of the range.

Bitcoin and ether volatility remains muted

The 30-day implied volatility indices for bitcoin and ether remained subdued, continuing the pattern seen throughout the week. Traders continued to expect relatively orderly conditions despite rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and declining gold prices.

Deribit BTC options showed demand for both calls and puts, following a stronger call bias in the previous session. The $70,000 call was the most traded BTC contract over the 24-hour period.

The $3,000 call remained the most actively traded ETH options contract for a second consecutive day.

Lighter tumbles after Robinhood perps announcement

Lighter (LIT), the token associated with the perpetuals exchange, fell 17% over 24 hours and declined another 5.6% since midnight UTC. Its market capitalization fell to $2.1 billion.

The decline followed Robinhood’s announcement that it plans to provide U.S. perpetual futures through its own derivatives arm.

Interoperability tokens were among the leading gainers. Quant (QNT) rose 7.5% since midnight, making it the top CoinDesk 100 performer and lifting its 24-hour gain to 14%. LayerZero (ZRO), a cross-chain messaging token, gained 13% over the same period.

Memecoins also advanced, with Bonk (BONK) up 5.9% and dogwifhat (WIF) higher by 3.4% since midnight. PUMP declined 2.7% but remained 14% higher over 24 hours.

DeFi tokens were mixed after Tuesday’s rally, which followed speculation over a potential Aave token burn. Aave fell 3% since midnight, while Uniswap (UNI) and Ondo (ONDO) recorded smaller losses.

Curve (CRV) gained 3.6%, while Lido (LDO) and Ethena (ENA) each rose 1.8%.

CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index stood at 61 out of 100, remaining above 60 for a fifth consecutive day. The index has stayed above that threshold for more than three months as investors continue to focus on altcoins while bitcoin remains in consolidation.