Bitcoin dropped below $84,000 as escalating attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude above $101 a barrel and strengthened the dollar and Treasury yields. The broader crypto market suffered deeper losses, with smaller tokens and leveraged positions bearing the brunt of the move.
According to CoinDesk, liquidations across crypto markets rose 235% over 24 hours to $547 million, while ether accounted for $174 million of the liquidated positions. The sell-off came even as U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded another day of net inflows.
Oil shock weighs on crypto
Bitcoin slipped below $84,000 shortly after midnight UTC as the rise in oil prices added to pressure across risk-sensitive markets. Brent crude moved above $101 a barrel after Iran stepped up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar also moved higher.
The decline was more pronounced outside the largest cryptocurrencies. The CoinDesk 80, which tracks a broad group of smaller tokens, fell nearly 4% over 24 hours, compared with a 2.5% decline for the CoinDesk 5. Decentralized-finance tokens dropped almost 6%, while the Memecoin Index lost about 5%.
Only a small group of tokens rose from midnight UTC, including SAND, PUMP and STX. Optimism’s OP was the weakest performer in the CoinDesk 100, falling 10%. Mantle lost close to 10%, while Arbitrum declined about 7%.
The pressure on Ethereum layer-2-related tokens followed reporting that Pudgy Penguins’ Abstract had become the second Ethereum layer-2 network to shut down in one week. PENGU, the token associated with Abstract’s parent project, fell more than 7%.
Leverage losses accelerate
Liquidations occur when exchanges forcibly close leveraged positions after traders no longer have enough collateral to support them. The sharp increase indicated that the market’s decline was affecting derivatives traders as well as holders of the underlying tokens.
CoinGlass data showed futures trading volume rising 16% to $182.85 billion over 24 hours, while open interest slipped 1% to $152.60 billion. Shorts represented more than 52% of taker volume. The combination of higher turnover and nearly unchanged open interest pointed to active repositioning rather than a broad return of bullish leverage.
Bitcoin futures open interest recovered to 660,000 BTC from an 11-month low of 626,000 BTC recorded on September 30. However, it remained well below the record of 800,000 BTC reached earlier in the year.
Ether traded around $2,600 after losing 3.5% from midnight UTC. Ether futures open interest rose to 13.22 million ETH from 12.5 million a day earlier. If sustained, the increase would represent a break above the downtrend that began at the May peak of roughly 15.95 million ETH.
Perpetual funding rates for major tokens, including bitcoin and ether, turned slightly negative. This means short-position holders were paying long-position holders to keep their trades open. The 24-hour cumulative volume delta for major cryptocurrencies was also negative, indicating that sellers were more aggressively hitting bids with market orders.
ETF inflows and Fed minutes in focus
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs had continued to attract money before the latest decline. SoSoValue reported $119 million of net inflows on Tuesday, the fourth inflow day in the previous five sessions.
Attention was also turning to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, when policymakers raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point. Weaker jobs data had made another increase this month appear less likely, according to Dan Khus, chief analyst at LVRG Research, as quoted by CoinDesk. Traders were expected to assess whether the minutes suggested patience or left room for one more rate increase before the end of the year.
Bitcoin and ether 30-day implied-volatility indexes remained near their year-to-date lows, as did Wall Street’s VIX, even while volatility in bond markets was rising. Bitcoin options trading on Deribit continued to favor calls with strike prices above $80,000, while options skews remained broadly neutral. Ether options showed a similar pattern.
Altcoins diverge from the broader decline
Several major tokens fell sharply. Cardano’s ADA declined 7.5% to around 26 cents, retreating from the more than 27-cent level reached on Monday. Uniswap fell nearly 9%, Lido lost 8%, and PancakeSwap and Pendle each dropped close to 8%.
Solana declined about 1%, performing better than many large cryptocurrencies, although tokens built on its network weakened. Jito fell nearly 8% and Jupiter dropped 6%.
SAND was one of the strongest large-token performers, rising 9% over 24 hours after a 37% gain on October 2. STX added about 4%, while Monero gained roughly 1%. STX futures open interest rose 3% alongside its price, a combination consistent with new long positions.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 09:09 on October 8, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $82,993.88, down 1.09% over 24 hours and 0.72% over seven days. Ethereum Name Service was $6.6319, up 1.84% over 24 hours but down 4.22% over seven days. Oasis traded at $0.007733, down 1.50% in 24 hours and 11.85% over seven days. Loaded Lions stood at $0.001439, down 1.58% over 24 hours and 6.92% over seven days.
