Crypto Oct 29, 2026: Fed holds rates, BTC tops $81,000

1. FED HOLDS RATES AT 3.75%-4.00%. The U.S. Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged in the 3.75%-4.00% range, with a 10-2 vote. Post-decision moves were mixed: BTC rose 0.64% and ETH added 0.91%, while XRP fell 4.11% and SOL dropped 5.37%, according to KuCoin data. The market also saw total crypto market cap climb to $2,726.6B and 24-hour volume reach $640.19B, indicating wider participation even though altcoin flows remained uneven.

2. BTC RECLAIMS THE $81,000 LEVEL. Bitcoin traded near $81,405 by 04:55 KST, up 0.96% over 24 hours from an earlier print of $80,564. Liquidations in BTC reached $62.21M, of which 78% were short positions, suggesting short sellers were squeezed and helped fuel the rebound. Holding above $81,000 is a key psychological signal for the short-term recovery.

3. ETH AND SOL REBOUND AFTER AN EARLY DIP. ETH rose 0.88% to $2,365, while SOL was up 1.47% at the CoinGlass 04:55 snapshot. Notably, SOL had fallen 5.37% right after the Fed announcement before reversing higher, showing dip buyers stepped in once short pressure was flushed. ETH also improved from a nearly flat -0.04% early in the day to a clear positive print.

4. SPECULATIVE FLOWS FAVOR PEPE AND M; ENA SLUMPS. In CoinMarketCap's top 100, PEPE led gains with a 9.76% surge; M added 5.58% to $1.11; LEO rose 4.24% to $9.42. On the losing side, ENA fell 7.85% to $0.196 and VVV dropped 7.61% to $23.80. The split shows short-term money favoring memecoins with strong retail appeal, while some platform tokens faced profit-taking pressure.

5. 24-HOUR LIQUIDATIONS REACH $132.15M, SHORTS DOMINATE. CoinGlass data for the top 20 assets showed $132.15M in 24-hour liquidations, with short positions accounting for 71.31%. Bitcoin led with $62.21M, followed by ETH at $35.62M and SOL at $6.83M. The dominance of short liquidations indicates upward price swings forced bearish traders to close positions, reinforcing the technical bounce.

6. KIMCHI PREMIUM REMAINS FLAT. On Upbit, BTC traded at KRW 108.38M, just 0.01% above Binance; ETH premium stood at 0.03%, SOL at 0.07%, XRP at 0.01% and DOGE at 0.39%. All major altcoin premiums stayed below 0.4%, signaling no unusual Korean demand and low cross-exchange price risk.

7. DERIVATIVES LIQUIDITY EXPANDS. 24-hour derivatives volume rose to $634.94B, with BTC dominance at 60.09% and ETH dominance at 10.61%. Stablecoin market cap reached $279.36B, suggesting ample liquidity ready to flow into the market. This backdrop supports the rebound without requiring an outsized jump in spot buying.

What to watch today: The U.S. trading session on Oct 29 to confirm whether BTC holds above $81,000.
*Information aggregated for reference and not investment advice.*