Good morning Asia. This is what is making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top news during US time and an overview of market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of the US markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
bitcoin is trading above $110,000 and Ether is at $3,880 as Hong Kong begins its trading week.
The two leading digital assets have fallen significantly over the past 30 days, with BTC in the red by 10% and ETH by 14% as traders continue to consolidate positions.
In a note, market maker FlowDesk said most of its clients have stopped adding new risks after last week’s Federal Reserve meeting, with flows dominated by short-term trading strategies and portfolio rebalancing.
Still, they wrote in the note, traders showed net buying in BTC, HYPE and SYRUP, tokens backed by cash flow or buyback narratives, even as assets linked to Solana lagged along with an increase in Bitcoin dominance to approximately 60%. FlowDesk wrote that many traders now appear underexposed if the market recovers, suggesting cleaner positioning after earlier deleveraging.
In the derivatives market, however, fear remains the predominant sentiment.
According to data from CoinGlass, approximately $155 million in crypto derivatives were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with $97 million in long positions and $58 million in shorts eliminated. The pattern suggests a moderate surge in overleveraged long positions rather than widespread panic selling, as funding rates and borrowing costs continue to normalize.
FlowDesk saw elevated selling bias and persistent caution despite calmer volatility, while call selling and put buying dominated BTC and ETH options.
Cheap risk reversals could be attractive if spot markets stabilize, FlowDesk wrote, and volatility is likely to ease towards the end of the year.
On the credit side, lending demand for altcoins remains strong as traders exploit negative financing and cover locked tokens, while benchmark lending rates for DeFi protocols on Ethereum have dropped from 5.6% to 5.3%.
Overall, crypto markets begin the week in wait-and-see mode, looking for a catalyst that has yet to materialize.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin held steady around $110,300 on Monday, showing signs of stabilization after a week of profit-taking and modest deleveraging in derivatives markets.
ETH: Ether traded near $3,900, rising slightly as traders cautiously rebuilt exposure following last week’s market-wide pullback.
Gold: Gold closed at around $4,003 an ounce, falling 0.5% on Friday after recovering from a two-week low earlier in the week. Despite hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve and a stronger dollar that reduced the odds of a rate cut in December, the metal still gained 3.7% in October for its third consecutive monthly rise, as geopolitical tension and US fiscal uncertainty kept safe-haven demand intact.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s main stock index continues to rise above 52,000 as investors remain optimistic about U.S.-China trade developments and strong earnings from tech giants.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- Canaan’s deal with Japan marks the first state-linked bitcoin mining project in the country (The Block)
- November Could Be the New October for US Crypto ETFs After Shutdown Delays SEC Decisions (CoinDesk)
- Court Denies Crypto Bank Custody’s Bid to Lever Unwilling Fed Master Account (Decrypt)
