The cryptocurrency market is enjoying a rare period of calm after Tuesday’s sell-off gripped bitcoin. and ether to new multi-year lows.
BTC was recently trading at $76,100 after rebounding from $72,870, the lowest since November 2024, while ETH is at $2,255 after falling to a level not seen since May last year. Both assets are in the black as of midnight UTC, albeit just barely.
The altcoin market is mixed: privacy coins are embarking on a much-needed rebound, while Solana-based tokens like PUMP and JUP fell, losing 2% and 2.5%, respectively, since midnight.
The rally came after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a government funding package to end a partial shutdown, boosting U.S. stock futures and other global markets. Precious metals recovered: gold once again exceeded $5,000 and silver at $90 rose almost 6%.
Derivatives positioning
- Traders continue to reduce their risk exposure, causing the cumulative notional open interest in all crypto futures to drop to $105.90 billion, the lowest level since last April.
- Crypto futures bets worth $679 million were settled in 24 hours, with bullish plays accounting for the majority of the total.
- Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility rose to 53% annualized, the highest since December 1, indicating increased fear in the market.
- Open interest (OI) in bitcoin and ether futures fell 0.7% and 2%, respectively. DOGE and HYPE, which recently outperformed, have seen higher capital outflows.
- The OI in LINK futures increased by 2% along with a positive cumulative volume delta. The combination points to an influx of bullish pressure in the market. The 24-hour CVD is also positive for TRX, XLM and ZEC.
- Deribit-listed options still show a bias toward bitcoin and ether puts, a sign of persistent demand for downside protection. Short-term puts are trading at a 10-12 volatility premium to calls, a sign that fear is at its peak.
- Block flows presented demand for bitcoin and ether sell spreads, a bearish strategy.
symbolic talk
- Derivatives exchange tokens HYPE, LIT and ASTER fell in the last 24 hours as traders pivoted back towards privacy coins.
- HYPE lost 8.5%, but is still up 30% since the beginning of the year.
- Monero rebounded 4% stopped the bleeding after losing more than 50% of its value since January 14. Zcash has risen 3.4% after falling more than 62% from its all-time high in November.
- Generally speaking, the altcoin market lost ground against bitcoin during the recent market crash. Bitcoin dominance is back above 59% after starting the year at 58.5%.
- The divergence is typical of previous cryptocurrency bear markets, characterized by exaggerated altcoin movements in low liquidity environments.
- Major cryptocurrencies SOL, ADA, and XRP are trading at their lowest levels since 2024, having retraced all bullish rallies of recent years.
