Bitcoin BTC $83,679.61 slipped below $84,000 shortly after midnight UTC after Iran stepped up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent Crude above $101 a barrel and lifting Treasury yields and the dollar.
The damage grew heavier further down the market, as the CoinDesk 80, which tracks a wide basket of smaller tokens, lost nearly 4% over the past 24 hours, against 2.5% for the CoinDesk 5. DeFi tokens fell almost 6% while the Memecoin Index tumbled by around 5%. Only a handful of tokens including SAND, PUMP and STX have managed to rise since midnight UTC.
Liquidations climbed 235% to $547 million over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. Ether ETH $2,577.16 positions accounted for $174 million of that as it trades at $2,600 having lost 3.5% since midnight.
Demand from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had held up going into the drop. The funds took in $119 million on Tuesday, according to SoSoValue, their fourth day of inflows in the last five sessions.
Minutes of the Fed's September meeting, when it raised rates by a quarter point, are due later Wednesday. Weaker jobs data has made another increase this month look less likely, Dan Khus, chief analyst at LVRG Research, told CoinDesk . Traders will be watching whether the minutes sound patient or still point to one more hike before year-end, he said.
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
