Bitcoin traded around $83,450 in early European trading on October 14, after briefly reaching $84,000 at 08:00 UTC. The cryptocurrency bounced from a low of $80,970 recorded on Tuesday.
Altcoins lagged behind bitcoin's performance. The CoinDesk 80 fell 0.6% since midnight UTC, while the CoinDesk 20 edged higher with 0.2% gains. Close to two-thirds of the CoinDesk 100's members were lower. The CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season index slipped to 55 from 60 a week earlier.
Market attention focused on the U.S. consumer price index, the last inflation reading before the Federal Reserve's October 28 decision. Economists polled by Dow Jones estimated annual inflation quickened to 3.6% from 3.4%. Gasoline prices averaged $4.34 a gallon compared to $3.08 a year earlier, according to AAA.
New York Fed President John Williams said he saw no need for interest-rate increases in 2027, though he left the door open to one more this year. This statement provided some relief to markets overnight.
Derivatives and Positioning
Crypto futures volume fell 26% to $156.79 billion over 24 hours. Cumulative open interest dropped to $140 billion, down 2.27%. Liquidations declined more than 80% to $136.32 million, indicating a calmer, less leveraged market. The long-short taker volume ratio leaned bearish, with shorts accounting for 52% of the flow.
Bitcoin and ether traders reduced positions, with open interest down 3.5% and 2.7% respectively. The drops in dollar-value open interest indicated positions were being closed rather than simply marked down.
Zcash was the only major token showing fresh capital inflow, with open interest up over 4% alongside a 1% rise in spot price. The token's 24-hour implied volatility index bounced to 40%, higher than its 50- and 100-day averages.
Token Movement
Optimism slipped 4.2% since midnight after rallying to its highest level since mid-May on Tuesday, following Uniswap's Unichain testnet migration to OP Enterprise on October 13.
DeFi was the weakest sector, with the CoinDesk DeFi index falling 1.8% since midnight. Liquid staking token Lido lost 2.9%, Jito fell 2.8%, and Uniswap declined 2.5%.
Kite led gainers with a 5.3% rise, followed by Pyth up 4.5% and Venice up 2.4%. Zcash added 1.7%.
S&P 500 index futures edged up 0.2%, while Brent crude held near $106 a barrel.
