Crypto Market Buoyed by Softer Than Expected CPI Print Along with Bitcoin As Ether Surges Back Above $110,000 Moves back towards $4,000.
Positive investor sentiment appears to be strongly tied to Bitcoin, with CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator reaching its lowest level in over 90 days, as Bitcoin’s dominance continues to grow.
derivatives positioning
by Jacob Joseph
- Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility, as measured by Volmex’s BVIV index, has dropped from 52% to 45% in two days, partially reversing the spike experienced on October 10. This decline signals a similar reset on Wall Street as well as market concerns.
- Options data from Deribit shows that BTC’s seven-day volatility risk premium (VRP) has turned negative, indicating renewed calmness.
- The dealer gamma profile points to a positive gamma buildup from the $112K to $120K strike. This means that dealers trade against the market within this range, preventing price fluctuations.
- Broadly speaking, BTC continues to trade at a premium to calls across all periods, reflecting persistent downside fears and call overwriting, especially at the long end of the curve.
- ETH Options Show Bullishness After December Expiry.
- Open interest (OI) in perpetual futures tied to most major tokens has increased in the last 24 hours. PUMP Futures leads the pack with an OI gain of over 14%. Strong capital inflows into non-critical tokens often precede market corrections.
- Funding rates for TRX, ZEC have turned slightly negative, indicating a bias towards bearish short positions. In the case of ZEC, traders with long exposures in the spot market can hedge with short futures bets.
token talk
by oliver knight
- CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” index has fallen below 25/100 for the first time in the last 90 days, as it approaches “Bitcoin Season.”
- This decline reflects deteriorating sentiment across the altcoin market, with assets such as FET, 2Z, BONK, and WIF losing more than 50% of their value over the past three months.
- Bitcoin dominance has also increased from 57% to 59% since September 13, a sign that investors are avoiding speculative altcoin bets in favor of Bitcoin, which has hovered between $100,000 and $126,000 since July.
- Meanwhile, altcoins fell victim to a liquidation phase earlier this month as the selloff induced exaggerated drawdowns, draining the order book of liquidity in the process.
- While some have recovered from the selloff, many remain at key levels of support forming a bearish market structure.
- This is despite a wave of digital asset treasury companies (DATs) investing in altcoins during 2025, with a lack of retail demand failing to sustain consistent momentum.