Bitcoin traded near $79,700 on Tuesday, down 0.4% since midnight UTC, while the Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting that will culminate in an interest-rate decision Wednesday. Ether fell 0.5% over the same period.
The decline came as traders positioned ahead of the Fed’s announcement. CME’s FedWatch tool showed around a 90% chance of no rate change, according to market pricing. U.S. stock index futures edged lower ahead of big-tech earnings later in the week, though Asian tech shares rallied independently. South Korea’s Kospi rose 3.1%, but crypto did not follow the broader tech rebound.
The DeFi index dropped 1.8%, reversing Monday’s performance when it was the only index to gain. AI-linked tokens fell even as Asian tech stocks rallied, underscoring the decoupling between traditional tech momentum and digital-asset performance.
Inflows Resume for Bitcoin ETFs
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs took in $110 million on Monday after two days of outflows, signaling renewed institutional interest. Oil prices also climbed, with U.S. crude approaching $102 a barrel.
Crypto futures activity intensified. Volume rose 18% to $152 billion in 24 hours, while open interest climbed 0.95%. Liquidations decreased to $133 million, down 13%. The taker long-to-short ratio split 49.54% to 50.46%, indicating relatively balanced positioning.
Bitcoin and ether declined 1.1% over 24 hours. Solana fell 1.91%. Futures open interest for BTC, ETH, and SOL rose 1%, 0.8%, and 3.6% respectively, while SOXL (Direxion Nasdaq-100 3X leveraged ETF) futures open interest fell 7.4% even as SOXL perp prices gained 8%.
Privacy Coins and Ecosystem Developments
Privacy coins held up better than most assets. Dash rose 1.8% despite broader market weakness.
Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe proposed ending the 8% share of newly created coins that fund the network’s community grants program, raising questions about the project’s funding model. Zcash’s treasury currently holds $125 million. Separately, 5.58 million TIA tokens are scheduled to unlock Saturday, Oct. 31.
The CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season index rose to 57 from 53, while Aave’s DAO has not bought back tokens since April. Bitcoin put options expiring Dec. 25 are struck at $72,000, suggesting some traders are hedging against further downside through year-end.
