Cryptocurrency giants Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced notable gains on Tuesday, marking a period of consolidation following a recovery on Monday. Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $112,900, reflecting an increase of 0.78%, while Ethereum sits at around $4,150, up 1.1% in the last 24 hours. This bullish momentum is underscored by a significant uptick in futures open interest, which soared from $29 billion to $31 billion, indicating stronger investor sentiment.
The day’s trading activity is largely dominated by altcoins, particularly the decentralized exchange Aster, which reported an impressive $64 billion in daily trading volume. Aster has attracted traders with its offering of up to 300x leverage, further spurring interest in the platform.
Recent data from derivatives trading shows a shift towards a more bullish sentiment within the market. Bitcoin futures open interest has risen substantially to about $31 billion from a recent monthly low, suggesting that traders are regaining confidence. Notably, Binance continues to lead in this space with $12.7 billion in open interest. The three-month annualized basis is also on the rise, increasing to 7% from approximately 6%, thereby enhancing the profitability of basis trades.
While the BTC options market presents a complex landscape, some intriguing trends have emerged. The 25 delta skew for short-term options has been dropping, indicating that traders are paying a premium for puts and are seeking downside protection. Contrarily, the 24-hour put-call volume reveals that calls account for 65% of the contracts traded—this reflects a significant shift in trader sentiment toward anticipating a short-term rally, despite caution signaled by the skew.
Funding rates across major exchanges, such as Binance and OKX, have turned positive, with rates rising to around 7% and 10% respectively. This trend suggests a growing willingness among traders to take on long positions, with long traders now compensating shorts—a classic indicator of positive market sentiment. Although funding rates on some platforms, like Hyperliquid, maintain volatility, the prevailing trend indicates renewed trader confidence.
Data from Coinglass highlights that a total of $316 million in liquidations occurred over the past 24 hours, with a relatively even split between long and short positions (44-56). Ethereum saw $73 million in liquidations, while Bitcoin recorded $70 million, contributing to a broader context of market volatility. Additionally, the Binance liquidation heatmap pinpoints $115,000 as a critical level to watch in the event of a price increase.
The competitive landscape between derivatives exchanges Aster and HyperLiquid is intensifying. According to DefiLlama, trading volume on Aster has surged to $64 billion, significantly overshadowing HyperLiquid’s $7.6 billion. Max Arch, a core contributor at BoltLiquidity, attributes this shift to Aster’s provision of leveraging options ranging from 100x to 300x compared to HyperLiquid, which caps at 40x. Arch notes that while traders are flocking to higher leverage opportunities, it remains to be seen how this increased risk will impact Aster’s long-term viability. Importantly, he points out that only about 6% of Aster’s trading volume stems from wash trading, which is lower than some skeptics previously estimated.
However, the native tokens of both exchanges, ASTER and HYPE, have recently underperformed. ASTER has plummeted from $2.39 on September 25 to $1.80, while HYPE has declined from a peak of $58.92 on September 18 to $44.32. This disappointing performance of the tokens is largely attributed to a broader sell-off in the altcoin market, which saw a significant reduction of about $200 billion in total market capitalization, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
