The cryptocurrency market closes the week on a constructive note, with bitcoin adding up to 1.1% from midnight UTC to $65,760, while the broader market held firm despite a macroeconomic backdrop that should be applying much more pressure.
Brent crude futures are trading at $97.66 a barrel, the highest level since mid-May, as the conflict with Iran shows no signs of abating. While previous oil spikes have rattled risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, digital assets are broadly green this morning.
Ether (ETH) mirrored bitcoin’s gain, rising as much as 1.6%, while companies like HYPE and FET rose more than 2%.
Traditional markets are silent, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures marginally positive and gold holding above $4,000. The dollar index is down slightly.
Derivatives positioning
- Market rotation dominates activity: Volume increased 11% to $165 billion in 24 hours, while open interest (OI) remained stable at around $116 billion. This shows a market that has seen rotation rather than positional interest.
- Bearish accumulation on dogecoin: DOGE futures OI continues to rise and is approaching 16 billion tokens, the most since October. The continued gains come as the DOGE spot price remains under pressure after falling on Thursday to the lowest level since November 2023. The combination of a rise in open interest along with a drop in price is said to confirm the bearish trend and signal traders’ interest in shorting the falling market.
- Mixed ether signals: The OI in ether futures is also rising, currently at 14.53 million ETH, the highest level since June 7. Other indicators paint a mixed picture with positive funding rates still pointing to bullish sentiment, while the negative 24-hour CVD indicates that the bears are leading the price action by shorting market orders rather than placing limit orders.
- Broad-Based Bearish Leadership: With the exception of TRX and CRO, most tokens, including BTC, have a negative 24-hour CVD.
- Volatility decreases: There is good news for bulls on the BVIV index, which measures BTC’s 30-day implied volatility. The measure has dropped 3% since midnight to 39%, ending a five-day streak of gains. Ether’s EVIV is also under pressure.
- Option group: In the Deribit-listed bitcoin options market, a massive $5 billion open interest pool has formed in $70,000 to $72,000 options, driven primarily by bullish bets or call options. The volume rankings also show an upward bias with $77,000 and $80,000 calls listed along with other calls.
symbolic talk
- Hyperliquid (HYPE) led the altcoin market for the second consecutive session, rising 2.4% to $58.93 as it rebuilds from a series of higher lows since its July pullback from all-time highs.
- AI tokens FET and NEAR posted gains of 2.23% and 1.38%, respectively, offering tentative signs of stabilization after weeks of underperformance, while added 1.89% to extend one of the most consistent streaks in the DeFi sector this month.
- returned 2.13% of Thursday’s 12% rise, a familiar pattern for the Trump family-linked token, which remains highly susceptible to sharp reversals due to low liquidity.
- Lighter (LIT) fell another 1.32%, extending a decline that has now recovered close to 20% from its July high as profit-taking continues following its more than 200% rally between May and early July.
- The broader 24-hour picture tells a more cautious story, with WLFI, AVAX, HBAR and SUI falling between 4% and 10% over the past day, a reminder that the intraday rally masks persistent weakness in a part of the altcoin market.
