Bitcoin, after a notable surge during a volatile U.S. trading session on Wednesday, has seen its price stabilize around $68,600 in the Asian trading hours on Thursday. The cryptocurrency momentarily tested $70,000, continuing a trading range that has persisted since the beginning of February. Earlier in the week, Bitcoin dipped to $62,500 before peaking at $71,100 on February 15. This recent performance is reminiscent of January’s breakout, where a substantial rise was followed by a dramatic fall from $98,000 to $60,000 in just three weeks, setting a lower high in the current bearish trend.
Despite Bitcoin’s fluctuations, a few altcoins have shown strong performance. Notably, the HYPE token has increased by 4.3% since midnight UTC, edging closer to the $30 mark. Additionally, the privacy coin Decred (DCR) has also experienced a robust rally, reaching its highest price levels since November with a 4% gain.
In tandem with the cryptocurrency market, U.S. stock index futures have largely remained stable. The recent earnings report from NVIDIA failed to provide a sustained boost as concerns about inflated AI valuations continue to loom.
In terms of derivatives, the total open interest (OI) in the crypto futures market has risen by over 6.6%, reaching nearly $100 billion, outpacing the overall increase in the crypto market capitalization. Notable performers include ADA and ETH futures, boasting OI increases of 21% and 15%, respectively, while several altcoins have seen OI growth of around 9%. Bitcoin’s OI growth of more than 3% primarily stems from its recent price gains. Furthermore, the 30-day implied volatility indices for Bitcoin and Ethereum indicate a period of calm in the market, which may support ongoing price increases.
Funding rates for perpetual futures of most tokens—including Bitcoin and Ethereum—have stabilized above zero, suggesting a renewed shift toward bullish long positions. On Deribit, Bitcoin’s recent price surge has spurred demand for call options at strike prices between $85,000 and $90,000. Nevertheless, the broader options market still shows a tendency toward put options, highlighting persistent concerns about potential downside risk. The $60,000 put option has emerged as the most widely held, boasting a notional open interest exceeding $1.4 billion.
As for specific tokens, the layer-1 token Polkadot (DOT) saw a remarkable gain of 21% within a 24-hour period, although its momentum slowed as European markets opened. Investors are displaying interest ahead of a significant network reward halving in March. The governance token of Uniswap (UNI) also surged, increasing by 15%, driven by a new governance proposal aimed at enhancing the protocol’s revenue capture across various layer-2 networks.
Conversely, the ATOM token experienced a decline, losing over 6% without a clear bearish catalyst, which reflects the ongoing vulnerabilities among altcoins due to liquidity constraints. Meanwhile, major cryptocurrencies like ADA and Ethereum have recorded increases of approximately 8.5% since Wednesday morning, with the uptick in their open interest indicating that such movements are likely supported by leveraged positions rather than mere spot buying.
