Bitcoin traded at $81,326 in MarketRadar's snapshot at 11:39 UTC on October 28, up 1.91% on the day, after pushing back above $81,000 in Asian hours. CoinDesk put the morning print at $81,400, up 0.8% since midnight UTC, one session after the token slipped below $80,000 on Tuesday. Ether traded at $2,363 in the same snapshot, up 2.19%, matching CoinDesk's report of a 2% ether gain to about $2,360.
South Korea supplied the spark. The Kospi jumped 6.6% on Wednesday and closed above 6,000, Bloomberg reported, after SK Hynix disclosed September-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($62.5 billion), seven times the year-earlier figure and more than 7% above analyst forecasts. SK Hynix shares climbed around 11% in Seoul, Samsung added about 9%, and the chipmaker set out 60 trillion won ($45 billion) of shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends for the rest of its fiscal year, per CoinDesk's account of the Bloomberg figures.
Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.5%, per CoinDesk, after the Nasdaq Composite closed Tuesday up 1.18% at 26,478 and the S&P 500 closed up 0.60% at 7,723 in MarketRadar's snapshot.
Tuesday was the second consecutive session of net subscriptions for United States spot bitcoin ETFs. Farside Investors figures carried by CoinDesk put the day's intake at $176 million.
| Asset | October 28 reading | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | $81,326 (MarketRadar snapshot, 11:39 UTC) | +1.91% |
| Ether | $2,363 (MarketRadar snapshot, 11:39 UTC) | +2.19% |
| Kospi | Above 6,000 | +6.6% |
| SK Hynix shares | Seoul session | Around +11% |
Memecoins led the crypto board. PEPE jumped 9.4%, the best showing in CoinDesk's 100-token gauge on Wednesday. Arkham Intelligence attributes roughly $51 million of PEPE in identified wallets to Tron founder Justin Sun, which on that reading makes him the biggest holder beyond exchange wallets, CoinDesk reported. Floki rose 3.4% and dogecoin rose 1.9%, while the CoinDesk Memecoin Index added 1.3% and CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season gauge rose to 60 from 57.
AI-linked tokens did not follow the chip shares: Venice fell 8.2%, Grass dropped 3.3% and Kite lost 2.4%.
Turnover across crypto futures reached $163.2 billion over 24 hours, up 7.5%, while outstanding open interest moved up 1.3%, CoinDesk data show. Liquidations over the same window totalled $183.6 million, a 38% jump, split $56.4 million in bitcoin and $46.0 million in ether. Bitcoin's own open interest slipped 0.1% even as its price rose 2.3% in that window, so leverage did not drive the move.
Options traders trimmed near-term protection: on Deribit, cover against a bitcoin fall over the next seven days got cheaper, with the put-call skew under 1% against near 10% a week before.
The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision at 18:00 UTC on Wednesday, with Chair Kevin Warsh speaking at the press conference after it. CoinDesk put CME FedWatch no-change odds near 92% on Wednesday morning. The Fed raised rates 25 basis points on September 16, 2026, and its stance in MarketRadar's standing macro file is tightening, so Warsh's December guidance matters more than the hold itself.
Why it matters
The sequence ran from Seoul earnings to United States futures to crypto in one morning, and the second day of ETF subscriptions gave the move a leg that a futures-only bounce would lack. Bitcoin's open interest slipping while its price rose points to spot-led buying rather than a leverage squeeze.
What to watch
- The Fed decision at 18:00 UTC and Warsh's press conference: any December hike signal reprices the $80,000-to-$82,000 zone first.
- A third straight day of net subscriptions for spot bitcoin ETFs after Tuesday's $176 million intake.
- Bitcoin at $82,000, flagged as resistance by trader Rekt Capital in TokenPost's October 28 report ($81,326 sits 1.66% above $80,000, 0.83% below $82,000).
Key points
- Bitcoin traded at $81,326, up 1.91%, after dipping below $80,000 on Tuesday; CoinDesk's morning print was $81,400.
- The Kospi jumped 6.6% above 6,000 after SK Hynix profit rose sevenfold to 83.3 trillion won ($62.5 billion).
- Spot bitcoin ETFs logged a second consecutive day of net subscriptions on Tuesday, with intake of $176 million per Farside Investors via CoinDesk.
- PEPE jumped 9.4% as Arkham attributed about $51 million of the token to wallets tied to Justin Sun.
- Crypto futures liquidations totalled $183.6 million in 24 hours, up 38%, while bitcoin open interest slipped 0.1%.
MarketRadar take
Treat $80,000 as the line this rebound has to hold and $82,000 as the level it has to clear, with 1.66% of room below the snapshot price to the first and 0.83% of room above it to the second. ETF subscriptions plus flat-to-falling open interest give the bounce steadier footing than a liquidation spike, but the Fed decision at 18:00 UTC can rewrite the board in one statement. A hold above $80,000 through Warsh's press conference keeps the recovery intact; a close back below it returns the market to Tuesday's defensive setup.
