Bitcoin experienced a volatile start to the trading day, erasing early gains as macroeconomic pressures weighed on risk assets. After briefly touching $85,000, the cryptocurrency dipped roughly 3 percent from those highs to settle around $83,400. This retreat coincided with a spike in U.S. Treasury yields, specifically the 10 year note which climbed to 5.211 percent, creating a challenging environment for investors across both crypto and equity markets. Adding to the tension is the expiration of approximately $14 billion in bitcoin options on Deribit this Friday, with many eyes focused on whether the price can hold above key strike levels.
Amidst the market turbulence, Michael Saylor has introduced a provocative shift in strategy regarding his preferred stock offerings. Saylor proposed moving toward daily dividends for several tickers, including STRF and STRC, meaning payments would accrue every calendar day regardless of weekends or holidays and be paid out on the following business day. According to Saylor, these changes are intended to bolster price stability and increase demand for the shares. Shareholders are expected to vote on this proposal by October 28, with some distributions potentially beginning as early as November 1.
The broader corporate landscape reveals a cooling effect on some of the aggressive treasury strategies seen last year. Sequans, a Paris based semiconductor firm, announced it has completely exited its bitcoin treasury business after selling its remaining holdings. The company had aggressively accumulated over 3,200 bitcoin during a peak in late 2025 but was eventually forced to liquidate most of its position to handle convertible debt obligations. While analysts view such exits as bearish headlines, some bulls argue that flushing out speculative players is simply part of a healthy market correction process.
Despite bitcoin’s sideways movement, other corners of the digital asset space showed surprising strength_altcoins like QNT and ONDO saw double digit surges as capital appeared to rotate away from purely speculative memecoins toward projects with established utility. Meanwhile, Cipher Mining reported significant growth after extending its lease at its Barber Lake data center in Texas via deals with Google backed Fluidstack, effectively more than doubling its contracted revenue to $9 billion. Market experts suggest that while bitcoin may face further pullbacks possibly even dipping toward $70,000, these fluctuations likely represent a temporary pause in a larger upward trend rather than a fundamental reversal.