Cryptocurrency markets continued to show signs of volatility on Friday, with Bitcoin It’s trading at $67,000, in the middle of its trading range since early February.
A number of altcoin prices rose during Asia’s lower liquidity hours, prompting currencies such as ALGO and RENDER to post double-digit gains in the past 24 hours.
But the broader picture remains the same. Since October, the cryptocurrency market has been in a macro downtrend characterized by a series of lower highs and lower lows.
U.S. stocks were flat on Friday as volatility continued to cool since Donald Trump’s comments on Monday about a possible end to the war with Iran.
Brent crude was trading at $109 a barrel, a sign that the war may not be as close to an end as some analysts predict.
Derivatives positions
- Bitcoin and Ethereum futures markets remain sluggish, with trading volumes thin due to the extended holiday weekend. Open interest for both assets has been essentially unchanged over the past 24 hours.
- Open interest in Solana futures has climbed to more than 65 million SOL, the highest level since February 7. This increase, coupled with negative funding rates and OI-adjusted cumulative volume deltas, suggests traders are increasingly bracing for downside, with short sellers showing greater confidence.
- Similar bearish market dynamics exist for TRX and BCH.
- The OI for privacy-focused Zcash (ZEC) futures held steady near 1.7 million ZEC for the third day in a row. ZEC’s CVD is also the highest among major companies. This combination suggests continued positioning with strong directional conviction, driven by aggressive buying pressure.
- Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index has fallen to 51.28%, its lowest level since February. Despite geopolitical concerns and energy market volatility, markets are not showing any signs of panic.
- The Ethereum Volatility Index has fallen to 72.55%, its lowest level since February 26.
- On Deribit, Bitcoin and Ethereum puts continue to trade at a premium to calls, indicating a bias for downside protection.
- Glassnode said trader gamma exposure was negative below $68,000, all the way down to $50,000. This means traders can sell assets in falling markets to hedge risks, exacerbating downside volatility.
token talk
- The altcoin market has been relatively resilient to the volatile behavior of cryptocurrencies this week, with certain parts of the market outperforming Bitcoin and crypto majors, particularly DeFi and AI tokens.
- The DeFi Select Index (DFX) is up 1.3% since midnight UTC, while the CoinDesk Computing Select Index (CPUS) is up 1.5%, beating out Bitcoin-heavy benchmarks such as the CoinDesk 20 (CD20), which rose just 0.16% on Friday.
- The outperformance of certain altcoins is a sign of market consolidation. When Bitcoin trades flat against major currencies, traders often speculate on less liquid altcoins. This speculation usually stops when Bitcoin redefines the next major market move.
