Bitcoin holds near $81,700 as altcoins rebound, led by Pepe's 13% climb

Bitcoin rose 0.5% to around $81,700 since midnight UTC, recovering from a low near $81,000, while altcoins showed stronger gains; the CoinDesk 80 gained 1.4%, memecoins climbed 2.9%, and the frog-themed memecoin pepe jumped 13%. This rebound follows a tech-led selloff on Thursday, where the Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.6%. Traders are now focused on the Fed’s Oct. 27-28 meeting, amid ongoing inflation worries due to Brent crude near $113, and ETF flows, as U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost $635 million on Thursday after over $1 billion in inflows during the first three days of the week.