Key facts
- Bitcoin fell to around $83,600 on Friday, down about 0.9% from its intraday high.
- $15.6 billion in Bitcoin options expired on Deribit on Friday.
- Open interest and 24-hour trading volume for Bitcoin fell 14.39% and 13.68% respectively.
- XRP traded near $1.58 with a market cap of $99 billion.
- Solana traded at around $119.84 with a market cap of $70 billion.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $299.09 million in inflows on Friday.
Bitcoin's rally showed signs of slowing on Friday, with the cryptocurrency falling to around $83,600 after touching an intraday high near $87,000. The pullback coincided with the expiry of $15.6 billion in Bitcoin options on Deribit, a routine event that can cause price fluctuations as dealers adjust hedges. Trading volume and open interest saw notable declines.
Despite the dip, technical indicators for Bitcoin remain bullish, with a golden cross pattern observed on charts. However, market sentiment is being influenced by macroeconomic factors, including the Federal Reserve's recent rate hike and ongoing discussions about future policy adjustments. The odds of an October rate hike have increased significantly.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to attract inflows, though at a slower pace than earlier in the week, suggesting a cooling of initial buying enthusiasm. The total crypto market capitalization has eased from its recent peak above $3 trillion.
In contrast to Bitcoin's consolidation, XRP and Solana have demonstrated strong performance. XRP has seen significant gains over the past week, driven by continued inflows into XRP ETFs and apparent building institutional interest. Solana has also climbed, supported by its upcoming Alpenglow network upgrade and ongoing inflows into its spot ETFs.
Upcoming economic data, including September's Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation report and the September jobs report, are expected to be key catalysts for resetting rate expectations and influencing the market heading into the fourth quarter.