Bitcoin remained close to $83,000 in European trading as U.S. Treasury yields stayed elevated. DeFi tokens retreated after Tuesday’s gains, while Lighter fell sharply following Robinhood’s announcement that it plans to offer U.S. perpetual futures.

BTC traded at $83,164 during the European morning, down 0.57% since midnight UTC. The CoinDesk 100 showed an even split between gainers and losers, with 50 constituents higher and 50 lower.

Bitcoin was down roughly 1% over 24 hours after slipping from a Tuesday U.S. session high of $84,400. The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX) declined 2.3%, the weakest result among the index groups. Aave dropped 4.4%, giving back part of its 11% advance from Tuesday.

Traditional markets moved higher in early trading, with S&P 500 futures up 0.27% and the Stoxx 600 gaining 0.74%.

The gains came despite a sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields. The 30-year yield moved above 5.6% Tuesday, its highest level since June 2002, while the 10-year yield reached a new 2007 high near 5.3%, CNBC reported.

Brent crude stood at $96.43 after falling Tuesday, remaining below $100, the level around which Monday’s crypto selloff unfolded.

Bitcoin’s latest drift lacked an obvious catalyst. Market participants were awaiting the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, ahead of the Wall Street open. Micron earnings were due after the close.

BTC has remained rangebound since its failed breakout attempt on Sept. 21, when it briefly reached $87,300.

Derivatives markets continue to shed leverage

Crypto derivatives data showed that leverage was still being reduced. The market-wide taker long/short volume ratio was balanced for a second consecutive session, following a modest advantage for sellers two days earlier, when the split was 46.9% long and 53.1% short.

Liquidations fell to about $196 million from $389 million the previous day. Open interest decreased to $147 billion from nearly $150 billion two days earlier, while overall trading volume declined 16.9% to $181 billion, CoinGlass data showed.

Bitcoin futures open interest also continued its downward trend. It stood at 625,000 BTC, the lowest level since Jan. 1, compared with 644,000 BTC a day earlier and 650,000 BTC two days earlier.

The decline in futures positioning has been underway since June, even as bitcoin advanced from $57,000 to above $80,000. That divergence points to spot purchases playing a greater role in the rally than leverage.

Binance traders remained tilted toward long positions. The long/short ratio increased to 1.42 among retail traders and 1.49 among whale accounts, up from 1.24 and 1.31, respectively, the day before.

Whale positioning edged higher to 1.90 from 1.88 but stayed below readings above 2.3 earlier this month. A ratio above 1 indicates that long positions outnumber shorts.

Ether futures open interest fell to around 13.08 million ETH, its lowest point since early March. SOL and XRP futures remained relatively inactive, extending a quiet stretch for the week.

Meanwhile, speculative positioning increased in PUMP. The token rose almost 16% over 24 hours, making it the top performer among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, while futures open interest also increased. That combination indicates fresh leveraged money moving into the asset.

Similar combinations of rising prices and leverage in speculative tokens have historically appeared near short-term market peaks.

HBAR fell 16% over 24 hours even as futures open interest reached fresh highs. Its funding rate turned negative from slightly above zero two days earlier, signaling increased demand for short positions.

Those positions may also be serving as hedges for traders holding HBAR in the spot market. The token’s 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD was the most negative among major cryptocurrencies, reflecting strong selling activity.

POL and CAKE also had deeply negative funding rates, meaning short traders were paying to keep their positions open. LIT remained at the opposite end, with strongly positive funding.

Options activity remains balanced

Bitcoin and ether 30-day implied volatility indices stayed subdued, continuing a trend seen throughout the week. Traders continued to anticipate relatively orderly markets despite higher Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and weaker gold.

On Deribit, BTC options trading showed demand for both calls and puts after calls had dominated activity the previous day. The $70,000 call was the most traded BTC options contract over 24 hours.

The $3,000 call led ETH options volume for the second consecutive day.

Lighter hit after Robinhood perps announcement

Lighter (LIT), the token associated with the perpetuals exchange, lost 17% over 24 hours and fell an additional 5.6% since midnight UTC. Its market capitalization declined to $2.1 billion.

The selloff followed Robinhood’s announcement that it intends to offer U.S. perpetual futures through its own derivatives arm.

Interoperability tokens performed strongly. Quant (QNT) rose 7.5% since midnight, making it the biggest CoinDesk 100 gainer and taking its 24-hour increase to 14%. LayerZero (ZRO), a cross-chain messaging token, advanced 13% during the same period.

Memecoins also moved higher. Bonk (BONK) gained 5.9%, while dogwifhat (WIF) rose 3.4% since midnight. PUMP slipped 2.7% but remained 14% higher over 24 hours.

DeFi performance was mixed following Tuesday’s rally, which was driven by speculation about an Aave token burn. Aave fell 3% since midnight, while Uniswap (UNI) and Ondo (ONDO) posted smaller declines.

Curve (CRV) rose 3.6%, while Lido (LDO) and Ethena (ENA) each gained 1.8%.

CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index remained at 61 out of 100, staying above 60 for the fifth consecutive day. The index has held above that threshold for more than three months as investors continue to focus on altcoins while bitcoin trades within a consolidation range.