Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Consolidates at $113K Ahead of Potential U.S.-China Trade Deal

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Consolidates at $113K Ahead of Potential U.S.-China Trade Deal The crypto market paused midweek as traders looked to the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate call and progress on a potential U.S.-China trade agreement. By Oliver Knight | Edited by Sheldon Reback Oct 29, 2025, 12:00 p.m. Donald Trump (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk) What to know : Markets braced for the Fed’s interest-rate decision, with expectations of a cut to 375–400 bps. A hold could strengthen the dollar and put pressure on risk assets. BTC open interest remains firm at $26.8 billion, but divergent funding rates and elevated options skew point to heightened uncertainty and short-term bullish bets. TRUMP and AERO led gains as traders rotated into high-beta tokens. ETH and HBAR lagged, underscoring selective strength ahead of policy headlines. The crypto market consolidated, with bitcoin BTC $ 113,359.26 falling back to $113,100 and ether ETH $ 4,017.40 continuing to grapple with the psychological level of support at $4,000. There are two key catalysts from a macro perspective this week: the Federal Reserve interest-rate decision due later Wednesday and a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . The market is anticipating a rate cut to 375-400 basis points (bps), although it's worth noting that if the Fed holds rates steady at 400-425, the market will likely sell off because the dollar will rally. Meanwhile in the Far East, China's President Xi Jinping will meet U.S. President Donald Trump as a deal nears a conclusion. An agreement is likely to boost U.S. equities and, by proxy, bitcoin because the largest cryptocurrency is positively correlated with the U.S. stock market. Derivatives Positioning By Saksham Diwan The BTC futures market is holding steady, with open interest (OI) at $26.8 billion. Funding rates, however, are highly divergent: Deribit shows an aggressive spike to 24.64% annualized, signaling strong demand for long positions, while OKX dipped to -3%, where shorts are being paid. This mix of sustained high OI and polarized funding rates indicates elevated near-term market volatility and uncertainty, disrupting the previously uniform bullish sentiment. In the options market, bitcoin is showing a strong surge in bullish conviction. The implied volatility (IV) term structure is displaying a slight near-term backwardation (downward slope) before normalizing into long-term contango (upward slope). Short-term bullish sentiment has increased significantly, with the 250-delta skew at 10% for the one-week expiry, meaning traders are paying a substantial premium for call options. This is further validated by the 24-hour put-call volume, whic is strongly in favor of calls (60%). Coinglass data shows $514 million in 24 hour liquidations, with a 69-31 split between longs and shorts. ETH ($155 million), BTC ($114 million) and SOL ($57 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations. The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $114,350 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price rise. Token Talk By Oliver Knight The altcoin market began to show signs of strength on Wednesday, with traders rotating into higher-beta tokens ahead of potential policy headlines. The TRUMP token, touted by President Donald Trump in January, led the move, rallying as optimism grew that the U.S. and China are closing in on a trade agreement. AERO $ 0.9798 also rose, buoyed by steady activity across Base-based DeFi protocols. The token added 7.2% as it notched its highest level since the start of the month. The market still showed a preference for bitcoin, with CoinMarketCap’s “ altcoin season” indicator remaining at 26/100. The altcoin gains were confined to memecoins and DeFi tokens, while larger tokens traded in tight ranges. ENA $ 0.4658 and hedera (HBAR) both gave back much of their gains on Wednesday, with the former down by 6.9% in 24 hours while hedera dropped by 4.5% despite a spot HBAR ETF going live on the NYSE on Tuesday. Crypto Markets Today Bitcoin Federal Reserve Derivatives market analysis More For You OwlTing: Stablecoin Infrastructure for the Future By CoinDesk Research Oct 16, 2025 Commissioned by OwlTing Stablecoin payment volumes have grown to $19.4B year-to-date in 2025. OwlTing aims to capture this market by developing payment infrastructure that processes transactions in seconds for fractions of a cent. View Full Report More For You Core Scientific Holders Poised to Reject CoreWeave Merger, Jefferies Says By Will Canny , AI Boost | Edited by Oliver Knight 52 minutes ago The bank said investors are likely to vote down the deal on Oct. 30, betting Core Scientific can create more value on its own. What to know : Jefferies expects Core Scientific shareholders to reject the CoreWeave merger as CORZ trades 18% above the implied offer. CORZ can drive value independently with 305 MW of capacity and strong AI data center demand. 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