Bitcoin holds above $80,000 as Asian stock rout drags altcoins lower
Bitcoin remains stable above $80,000 despite a broader market downturn triggered by a significant drop in Asian equities. While major cryptocurrencies held their ground, smaller altcoins and memecoins experienced sharper declines amid liquidity concerns.
Why it matters
The volatility in crypto markets reflects broader investor anxiety regarding global economic indicators and potential shifts in Federal Reserve interest-rate policies.
Asian equities set the tone, with South Korea’s Kospi plunging 8% and triggering circuit breakers while Nasdaq 100 index futures slid about 1%, extending Wednesday’s 1.9% drop in the Nasdaq Composite.
Altcoins took the heavier losses, with ether ETH $2,366.47 down 2.0% near $2,370. The CoinDesk 80 (CD80) slid by 2.2% while the bitcoin-dominant CoinDesk 5 (CD5) lost around 0.7%.
The bigger moves were apparent across lower market cap tokens, with pump.fun PUMP $0.004259 falling by 9.4% as the CoinDesk Memecoin Index lost 4.0%, leaving all but six CD100 members lower.
The odds of an October Federal Reserve interest-rate increase jumped to nearly 47% on CME’s FedWatch after Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected inflation report, from about 22% beforehand. It’s now back to roughly 26%, which leaves Treasury yields and hike pricing as the next signals heading into the U.S. open.
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