Mixed earnings from Tesla and Meta trigger broad sell-off
Bitcoin fell 2.9% since midnight UTC to reach $81,600 on October 22, according to CoinDesk pricing data. The decline follows mixed earnings results from Tesla and Meta Platforms that revived concerns about AI spending levels, sparking sell-offs across equities and cryptocurrency markets.
The CoinDesk 80 index, which tracks major cryptocurrencies, fell 3.5%. Ether declined 2.6% to near $2,400, while Solana (SOL) dropped 2.4% to around $104.
DeFi tokens led the broader retreat. The CoinDesk DeFi index slid 6%, with Uniswap (UNI) down 5% and Curve (CRV) declining 8.2% to 37 cents. Ethena (ENA) fell 7.2%, extending its monthly decline from a late-September peak to 25%.
Spot bitcoin ETFs absorbed more than $1 billion in inflows over the first three days of the week, according to SoSoValue data, even as prices retreated. Crypto derivatives trading volume surged 19% to $226.6 billion, though traders were mostly closing positions rather than opening new bets. Open interest in crypto derivatives declined 2.46% to $141.8 billion.
Liquidations jumped 52% to $431.1 million. Bitcoin trading volume rose 36%, while Ether volume climbed 27%.
Broader market pressure from Asia
Weakness extended across global equity markets. Chinese stocks entered a bear market, with the Hang Seng index falling 3% and the Kospi losing 3.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 2.7%. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.32%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.66%.
Monero (XMR) bucked the broader trend, gaining 4.9% to around $651. The token showed unusually high funding rates at approximately 70% annualized, signaling leverage build-up among traders. Monero futures open interest reached $300 million this week, and the token recorded a 19% monthly gain.
Alternative assets also moved higher. Gold open interest rose 12%, tokenized gold (XAUT) gained 10%, silver advanced 6.8%, and crude oil open interest increased 6.29%.
Token unlock and options expiration dates ahead
Celestia (TIA) declined 3.7% on the day and 9% over the week, though the token is up 31% for the month. The blockchain project has 5.58 million tokens scheduled to unlock on October 31.
On Deribit, options traders showed preference for call options expiring October 30 at $85,000 and $86,000 strike prices, with short-dated skews favoring puts. This positioning reflects uncertainty around near-term price levels.
Other altcoins declined broadly. Worldcoin (WLD) fell 7.3%, Layerzero (ZRO) dropped 4.2%, Starknet (STRK) slipped 6.1%, and Sandbox (SAND) fell 5.1%. Pump.fun (PUMP) declined 6%, extending its monthly loss to 19%.
Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade went live overnight. Uniswap recorded record fee revenue in September despite the October price declines affecting the broader market.
