Bitcoin hovered near $111,000 on Saturday, extending a modest rebound from last week’s lows as traders cautiously re-entered risk.
Ether rose 3.5% to $3,970, BNB and Solana rose more than 3% while XRP jumped 4.5% to lead gains among majors. Cardano’s ADA was unchanged while Tron’s TRX fell 5%, leading losses among majors.
Traders seem willing to pick at strength again, particularly in tokens with clearer catalysts a week after a $19 billion liquidation event wiped off risk-taking behaviour among market participants.BNB’s 5 rally this week followed renewed optimism around Binance’s prospects after founder Changpeng Zhao received a pardon from U.S. president Donald Trump, with some traders reading it as the end of an overhang that’s weighed on the token since late 2023.
“This is a massive moment for the industry,” said David Namdar, CEO of CEA Industries, which holds one of the largest BNB treasuries. “We believe CZ’s pardon is more than an inflection point for him personally, but also for BNB and potentially for Binance, paving the way for greater access to the U.S. market.”
Solana, meanwhile, continues to attract institutional flow and is increasingly treated as a liquidity proxy for risk-on sentiment. SOL’s 5% gain makes it one of the few majors to post a positive week, even as broader appetite for altcoins remains muted.
Still, this isn’t a return to full risk-taking. The market is adjusting to a slow grind higher after October’s record liquidation event, which erased nearly $20 billion in open interest and left leveraged traders shell-shocked.
Since then, funding rates have normalized, perpetual volume has dropped sharply, and spot buying has taken the lead — a sign that longer-term money is starting to nibble again.
“Bitcoin held the key $105,000 level through the flush, and that seems to have stabilized confidence,” said Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research. “We’re optimistic that the markets can improve as long-term fundamentals draw investors back, even if macro volatility keeps the upside contained.”
Underneath the surface, sentiment remains mixed. The fear index has hovered near 25 for days, suggesting conviction is still low even as positioning resets. But on-chain activity — especially among whales and ETF inflows — continues to signal accumulation rather than exit.
October has been defined by forced selling and false starts and on track to become the worst since 2015, dampening an otherwise bullish month that averages over 25% returns for bitcoin.
As such, bitcoin’s strength above $110,000 is keeping the structure intact, but traders are choosing rotation over expansion, preferring selective exposure rather than broad speculation.
And for a market that’s spent most of the month bracing for the next liquidation wave, that alone counts as progress.