BTC Holds $77,345 as SOPH Jumps 72%, LSK Funding Turns Negative

Bitcoin changed hands at $77,345.3 on Binance USDT-M Futures as of 09:05 WIB on October 31, up 0.91% over 24 hours on $14.99 billion in volume. Ether outpaced it, rising 2.42% to $2,242.3 with $8.74 billion traded, while the broader large-cap set stayed firmly in the green.

Majors Post Broad Gains

Every major token tracked posted a positive 24-hour move. SOL led the top five with a 2.91% gain to $96.47 on $1.79 billion in volume. XRP climbed 3.55% to $1.2534 on $665 million in turnover, the steepest percentage move among the majors. BNB lagged the pack but still edged up 0.32% to $704.35, with volume of $698 million.

The gains across BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB and XRP suggest the move wasn't confined to a single asset. Volume on BTC and ETH alone topped $23.7 billion combined, a reminder that the bulk of futures activity is still concentrated in the two largest markets.

SOPH Leads a Volatile Altcoin Session

Among tokens with at least $50 million in 24-hour volume, five names posted outsized gains. SOPHUSDT topped the list with a 71.99% jump on $107 million in volume. IDOLUSDT followed closely with a 64.75% rise and far heavier turnover of $511 million, making it the most actively traded of the day's biggest gainers. AINUSDT rose 50.15% on $180 million, BEAMXUSDT climbed 43.39% on $259 million, and LSKUSDT gained 35.51% on $109 million.

Where the Selling Concentrated

On the other side of the ledger, AKEUSDT dropped 41.78% on $80 million in volume, the steepest decline among tokens meeting the $50 million volume threshold. QUSDT fell 27.94% on $176 million, BLESSUSDT lost 26.69% on $106 million, BTWUSDT slid 26.11% on $82 million, and PARTIUSDT, the most heavily traded of the group, dropped 12.83% on $210 million.

Funding Rates Point to Mixed Positioning

Funding rate is the periodic payment futures traders exchange every eight hours to keep perpetual contract prices tied to spot. A positive rate means longs pay shorts, typically a sign that leveraged buyers are crowding into a trade. A negative rate flips that, with shorts paying longs.

AINUSDT carried the most positive funding rate at 0.1678%, consistent with its 50.15% rally. In that case, leveraged longs were clearly driving the move and paying up for the privilege. IDOLUSDT followed at 0.0685% and XMRUSDT at 0.0511%.

The negative side told a more unusual story. LSKUSDT's funding rate sat at -0.3963%, the steepest in either direction, despite the token gaining 35.51% on the day. That combination of a sharp rally paired with deeply negative funding suggests short sellers were betting aggressively against the move and paying longs to hold their positions, a setup that can squeeze tighter if price keeps pushing against them. BLURUSDT's funding came in at -0.2473% and TRXUSDT's at -0.1379%.

Open Interest and Positioning on BTC and ETH

Open interest tracks the total value of futures contracts still open across the market. BTC's open interest stood at $7.45 billion, down 1.6% over the past seven days even as the price rose on the day. ETH's open interest fell more sharply, down 5.2% over the same window to $5.24 billion.

Falling open interest during a price uptick can mean the rally is being led by short covering or spot-driven buying rather than fresh leveraged bets. That's a different signal than a rally built on expanding open interest, which would point to new money entering long positions.

The account data adds another layer. On BTC, 74% of accounts held long positions, a long-to-short ratio of 2.77. On ETH, the skew was similar, with 75% of accounts long and a ratio of 2.93. Both numbers show retail traders heavily favoring the long side.

Yet the taker buy/sell ratio, which measures whether aggressive market orders were more often buys or sells, came in below 1 for both assets: 0.94 for BTC and 0.95 for ETH. A reading above 1 would mean buyers were hitting the ask more often than sellers were hitting the bid. Below 1 means the opposite happened over the past day, even as both prices closed higher. That divergence, retail accounts leaning long while taker flow leaned toward selling, points to a market where price gains may be coming from sources other than aggressive retail buying, such as spot demand or short covering by larger players.

What it means for traders

• Watch BTC's open interest trend against price. A continued decline in open interest alongside a rising price would reinforce the short-covering read rather than fresh long accumulation.
• LSKUSDT's negative funding against a 35.51% gain is worth tracking for a possible short squeeze if the rally extends, or for a reversal if the shorts prove right.
• The 74-75% long skew in BTC and ETH accounts means a sharp move down could trigger outsized long liquidations given how one-sided retail positioning is.
• A taker buy/sell ratio under 1 on both BTC and ETH, despite green daily candles, is worth monitoring on the next data refresh to see if aggressive selling intensifies or flips back above 1.
• Among the day's biggest movers, IDOLUSDT's $511 million in volume on a 64.75% gain stands out for its liquidity relative to peers like SOPHUSDT, which moved more on thinner turnover.