Crypto markets see altcoins outperform as Celestia jumps and bitcoin holds near $82,000

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Altcoins outperform as Celestia jumps

Highlights

Celestia surges 16% to $0.68 on throughput benchmark progress, marking a 2026 high and leading CoinDesk 100 gains as altcoins outperform bitcoin.
Futures trading volume falls 20% to $200 billion while liquidations drop to $311 million, indicating easing forced selling as positioning across crypto derivatives calms.
CME FedWatch tool shows implied probability of October Fed rate hike drops to 15% from 30% after Kevin Warsh's comments, with Treasury yields stable and Asian equities rebounding.

Altcoin rally broadens as bitcoin stays rangebound

As reported by CoinDesk, bitcoin is little changed since midnight UTC at about $82,100 after rebounding from around $81,600 near 03:30 UTC, while several altcoins post stronger gains across the market.

Celestia rises 16%, injective adds 7.7% and layerzero gains 7.3%, helping lift more than two-thirds of CoinDesk 100 members and pushing CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season index to 60 from 50 a day earlier. Ether adds 0.5% to trade near $2,450, while the CoinDesk 80 advances 0.46% and the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 5 remains flat.

Asian equities also stabilize after Thursday’s selloff, with South Korea’s Kospi closing 2.05% higher and Japan’s Nikkei up 1.39%. U.S. equity futures are little changed after the S&P 500 ends a three-day losing streak.

Rate expectations and derivatives signal calmer positioning

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declines to indicate what the central bank will do at its meeting later this month during remarks at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. Following those comments, the implied probability of an October rate increase falls to about 15% from roughly 30%, according to the CME FedWatch tool, while Treasury yields are largely stable.

In crypto derivatives, futures volume drops 20% over 24 hours to $200 billion, while open interest rises 2% to $142.21 billion and liquidations fall to $311 million from nearly $1 billion a day earlier. The positioning suggests forced selling is easing, with the long-short taker volume ratio now balanced after shorts made up 52% previously.

Bitcoin’s notional open interest rises just 0.3% against a 1% price gain, indicating outstanding contracts slip slightly. Ether and solana show similar patterns, while XRP open interest falls 1% as its spot price gains 1.4%, pointing to traders closing short positions rather than adding new longs.

Token-specific catalysts support selective gains

Celestia, the modular data-availability network token, trades around $0.68 after climbing 16%, marking the biggest gain in the CoinDesk 100 and a 2026 high. The token is up about 59% over four weeks, with the rally coinciding with Celestia Fibre reaching 3.07 terabits per second in a throughput benchmark.

Injective changes hands near $9.19 as interest builds around three pending U.S. exchange-traded fund applications. LayerZero rises to about $2.24, while larger tokens show mixed moves, with solana up 1.2%, XRP up 0.5%, monero up 2.9% and BNB little changed.

In our earlier article on UBS’s outlook for Fed policy, we explained why the bank expects a longer tightening cycle, with additional rate hikes priced in for December and even March 2027 after stronger inflation data. We also noted that CME FedWatch probabilities jumped following the CPI surprise, reinforcing the market’s “higher for longer” narrative that continues to shape risk assets and positioning.

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