Bitcoin slips to $81,400 as Asian chip stocks tumble
Bitcoin falls to $81,400 as Asian markets slide
Bitcoin slipped to around $81,400 on Tuesday, down 0.5% since midnight UTC, according to CoinDesk. The drop came even after US spot bitcoin ETFs, which are funds that trade on stock exchanges and track the price of bitcoin, took in $526.6 million on Monday. That was their largest daily inflow in nearly a month.
Asian stocks set the tone. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index fell 3.73% to its lowest close since April 7, as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics declined amid renewed worries over AI spending hitting chipmakers' shares. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.31%.
Key numbers from the session
- US spot bitcoin ETFs drew $526.6 million on Monday, their biggest daily inflow in nearly a month.
- South Korea's Kospi fell 3.73% to its lowest close since April 7.
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.31%.
- Ether fell 0.9% to near $2,385.
- The CoinDesk 80 (CD80) lost 0.34%, versus a 0.33% drop for the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 5 (CD5).
- The DeFi sector index (DFX) dropped 1.2%, the weakest of the CoinDesk benchmarks.
Options traders pay up for downside protection
Deribit data shows puts outtraded calls by more than two to one over 24 hours. A put is an options contract that gains value when an asset falls, while a call rises with the price. The busiest contract was the Oct. 30 $80,000 put.
Out-of-the-money puts also cost more than equivalent calls, by 2.5 to 4 volatility points across expiries. CoinDesk described this as a bearish skew, meaning traders are paying for protection against further declines even as open interest leans toward calls at $90,000-$100,000 for Oct. 30.
How traders are positioned
- Bitcoin open interest on Coinalyze fell to $27.4 billion, down 0.6% over 24 hours, while the aggregated funding rate was roughly 8.8% annualized.
- Ether's funding of about 3.9% annualized suggests a bullish bias among traders, per Coinalyze.
- Longs hold around 55% of bitcoin positions, with a long/short ratio of 1.24. Binance's top traders show a similar tilt, with a BTC-USDT position ratio of 1.78 on CoinGlass.
- CoinGlass shows $155.1 million of liquidations over 24 hours, down 54.7% from the previous day, with longs about 69% of the total on CoinMarketCap's tally.
- Bitcoin and ether each saw around $30 million in liquidations on Coinalyze, together about half of the $120.6 million it tracked.
Celestia gains, Sandbox slides
Celestia (TIA) rose 2.2% to around 63 cents, the biggest gainer on the CoinDesk 100 Index (CD100), adding to a gain of about 42% over the month. CoinDesk said the run has coincided with Celestia's Oct. 1 benchmark showing its Fibre scaling system averaging 3.07 terabits per second. Options exchange Derive also chose Celestia for data availability in its V3 release. The next test is an unlock of 5.58 million TIA on Oct. 31, according to Tokenomist.
Sandbox (SAND) led the CD100 lower with a 4.5% drop to about 6 cents, giving back part of a gain of about 30% over the month. CoinDesk said that rally began after South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone lifted trading cautions imposed in August.
Other market context
Brent crude is near $110 a barrel as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia keep supply risks in view. Roughly 70 S&P 500 companies report earnings this week, with General Motors before the bell and United Airlines after the close.
What is confirmed
CoinDesk reported the bitcoin price move, the Kospi decline, the ETF inflow figure, the derivatives and liquidation data, and the token moves described above. These are reported market observations from the source, not statements from an official body.
What is still unclear
The sources do not establish a confirmed cause linking the Asian stock decline to bitcoin's move. CoinDesk describes the chipmaker worries and options positioning as context, not as a proven cause. The Celestia and Sandbox price moves are reported figures, and the reasons given are described as coinciding with or following certain events, not as confirmed causes.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.