Crypto Recap Oct 24: IRYS Surges 300%, Bitcoin Holds $80,900

Bitcoin traded at $80,916.7 per coin, down 0.45% over the past 24 hours as of 09:09 WIB on October 24, 2026, according to public Binance USDT-M Futures API data processed by Queenby. BTCUSDT futures volume came in at $8,928 million for the day. Ether followed a similar pattern, slipping 0.33% to $2,383.0 on $5,669 million in volume.

Outside the two largest assets, altcoin action was far busier. IRYSUSDT jumped 300.41% in 24 hours on $2,851 million in volume, more than Ether's entire daily turnover. On the other end, JCTUSDT tumbled 40.43%, the steepest drop among pairs with at least $50 million in volume.

Bitcoin and Ether Stay in a Holding Pattern

Moves in BTC and ETH were modest today. BTCUSDT fell 0.45% to $80,916.7, while ETHUSDT dropped 0.33% to $2,383.0. SOLUSDT fell harder, down 1.37% to $102.57, and XRPUSDT slid 1.49% to $1.2923. Among the five large-cap assets tracked, only BNBUSDT gained ground, up 0.99% to $741.16 on $312 million in volume.

The pattern suggests big money hasn't picked a clear direction in BTC and ETH, while most of the action is concentrated in smaller-cap tokens.

IRYS Jumps 300%, Today's Top Gainer

IRYSUSDT led all pairs with at least $50 million in volume, surging 300.41% in a day on $2,851 million in turnover, well above the volume seen in other altcoins on this list. That scale of volume suggests the price spike was backed by real, large-scale trading rather than a thin move in a quiet market.

Behind it, BIRBUSDT rose 204.43% on $520 million in volume, and INUSDT climbed 74.31% on $52 million. ERAUSDT and ARKUSDT gained 34.14% and 19.56% respectively, with volumes of $88 million and $78 million.

Rallies this sharp in small-cap tokens are usually driven by a mix of speculative sentiment and leveraged positions getting opened fast. ARKUSDT's deeply negative funding rate of -1.7490% per 8 hours points to heavy short positioning as price climbed, putting pressure on shorts as the rally extended.

The Biggest Losers of the Day

On the losing side, JCTUSDT fell hardest, down 40.43% on $191 million in volume. MAGMAUSDT dropped 24.11% on $176 million, BTRUSDT fell 23.45% on $106 million, QUSDT slid 21.85% on $98 million, and GTCUSDT lost 17.42% on $79 million.

Extreme moves in both directions, whether a 300% rally or a 40% drop, are typical for tokens with small market caps and thinner liquidity compared to BTC or ETH. Even a modest-sized order can trigger a chain reaction through leveraged position liquidations.

Funding Rate: A Signal From Leveraged Traders

Funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between long and short traders in perpetual futures markets, typically calculated every 8 hours. It exists to keep futures prices anchored close to spot prices. A positive funding rate means longs pay shorts, signaling a market leaning bullish through leverage. A negative rate means shorts pay longs, signaling bearish dominance or a cluster of shorts under pressure to close out.

Today, the most positive funding rate sits on AGTUSDT at 0.0819% per 8 hours, followed by IRYSUSDT at 0.0291% and AKEUSDT at 0.0106%. The most negative readings are far more extreme: ARKUSDT at -1.7490%, BTWUSDT at -1.0680%, and BIRBUSDT at -0.9780% per 8 hours.

The scale of negative funding on ARK and BIRB, both of which also show up near the top gainers list, points to rallies largely fueled by a short squeeze, a situation where short sellers are forced to buy back their positions as price keeps climbing, which in turn pushes price even higher.

Open Interest and Long/Short Ratios on BTC and ETH

BTCUSDT open interest stands at $7.57 billion, down 1.6% over the past 7 days. Open interest measures the total value of futures contracts still open in the market. The decline suggests some traders are trimming positions or realizing gains and losses rather than adding fresh bets while price stays relatively flat.

ETHUSDT tells a different story: open interest rose 1.4% over the week to $5.53 billion, indicating new positions are being added in Ether even as its price slipped today.

On the account side, 68% of accounts holding BTCUSDT positions are long, putting the long-to-short ratio at 2.15. ETH shows even stronger long dominance, with 76% of accounts long and a ratio of 3.15. This data counts accounts, not position size, so retail traders remain tilted optimistic on both assets even as prices soften.

Taker Buy/Sell: Who's More Aggressive

The taker buy/sell ratio measures the balance between market orders (takers) that buy versus sell. A ratio above 1 means aggressive buyers outnumbered aggressive sellers over that period.

Yesterday, BTCUSDT's taker buy/sell ratio sat right at 1.00, nearly split evenly between aggressive buyers and sellers. ETHUSDT came in slightly below at 0.99, meaning aggressive sellers edged out buyers. Both readings line up with the mild price declines seen in BTC and ETH over the past 24 hours, even as account-level long/short ratios show most traders still betting on higher prices.

What It Means for Traders

A few things worth watching from today's data:

• BTC is holding near $80,916.7 on $8,928 million in futures volume. The 1.6% weekly drop in open interest means less room for forced liquidations compared to periods when OI was stacked higher.
• Most BTC accounts (68%) and ETH accounts (76%) are still long. A deeper move lower could trigger cascading liquidations given how one-sided positioning currently looks.
• Extremely negative funding on ARKUSDT (-1.7490%) and BIRBUSDT (-0.9780%) is worth tracking, since short squeeze patterns like this can either extend or reverse sharply once short-side pressure eases.
• IRYSUSDT's $2,851 million in volume, exceeding Ether's daily turnover, shows liquidity is currently concentrated in this token. A 300% daily move carries high volatility risk in either direction.
• Tokens with volume under $100 million, such as QUSDT and GTCUSDT, tend to be more exposed to sharp price swings from relatively small order sizes.

What is open interest and why does it matter?

Open interest is the total value of futures contracts still open in the market. Rising OI alongside rising price usually signals a trend backed by fresh positions, while falling OI, as seen in BTCUSDT today, shows traders closing out positions.

Why can funding rate turn so negative, like on ARKUSDT?

Funding rate turns sharply negative when most open positions are short, forcing short traders to pay longs each funding period. This often coincides with a short squeeze, which matches ARKUSDT's price spike.

What is the difference between the long/short account ratio and taker buy/sell ratio?

The long/short account ratio counts how many accounts hold long versus short positions, while the taker buy/sell ratio measures the volume of market orders actually executed as aggressive buys or sells within a given period.