NEW YORK, United States / CryptoWire.AI / – The crypto market rebounded on Wednesday, October 21, as Bitcoin reclaimed a key support level near $81,600 and rose to about $84,500. The world’s largest cryptocurrency gained 2.5% over 24 hours. It had dropped below $80,000 during a slide in mid-October. Altcoins also advanced, with XRP and Zcash posting the largest gains among major tokens. The move followed a bounce of about 6% from the month’s low.
XRP rose 4.1% to $1.37, while Zcash surged 11.2% to $1,332. Zcash is up 15.3% over the past week, ahead of a network upgrade known as NU7 planned for November. Ether rose 2.5% to $2,504. Solana gained 2.2% to $108.18 and BNB added 2% to $749. Overall crypto market value climbed by more than 2% during the session. The broad gains followed several weeks of losses linked to higher oil prices and bond yields.
Investor mood has moved back to neutral. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached 55 on its 0-to-100 scale, up 3 points from the day before. A score of 0 signals extreme fear, while 100 points to extreme greed. The latest reading suggests panic selling has eased, but buyers are not yet pushing prices aggressively. Traders had called October “Uptober” because of Bitcoin’s history of strong gains in the month.
Inflation and rates keep pressure on crypto
Oil has been a key driver of the October selloff. Brent crude moved between $97 and $112 a barrel during the month and traded near $108 on Wednesday. Supply fears remain high because of the war with Iran. In late September, Washington rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield of 5.09% also weighed on markets, although oil and yields both eased slightly on Wednesday.
Inflation data have added to the pressure. U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% in September compared with a year earlier, against forecasts of 3.6% and up from 3.4% in August. The Federal Reserve raised rates in September, leaving its benchmark at 3.75% to 4%. CME FedWatch shows about an 80% chance that the Fed will hold rates on October 28. Markets firmly expect another increase on December 9. Higher yields make low-risk bonds more attractive than volatile assets such as crypto.
Range holds between $79,700 and $87,400
Bitcoin’s latest rally ran from $62,763 to a September high of $87,422.70, establishing support at $81,603. The cryptocurrency lost that level during the October dip and has now recovered it. It trades about 4.6% above its 50-day exponential moving average near $80,782. The Relative Strength Index stands at 58.5, which indicates buyers have the upper hand. The ADX trend indicator remains below 20, signalling that the current trend is still weak.
Bitcoin has traded in a range of roughly $79,700 to $87,400 since late September. A daily close above $84,726 with the ADX rising above 25 could confirm a new trend. That would put $86,090 and then $87,422.70 in view. On the prediction market Myriad, traders put an 18% chance on Bitcoin touching $90,000 in October. A daily close below $81,603 would expose the October low near $79,711.