BTC Moves Carefully as Altcoins IMX, NEAR, and HASH Display Signs of Excess.

The crypto market continues to trade cautiously as it seeks fresh catalysts following the Fed rate cut. BTC has settled into a tight range, with $118,000 serving as resistance for the bulls to overcome.

Open interest in bitcoin futures has jumped to 149K BTC, ending a two-month downtrend. This signals renewed capital inflows into futures, possibly on the bearish side, as the three-month annualized premium remains depressed below 10%.

Smaller tokens continue to gain traction, raising hopes for a full-blown altcoin season. In the past 24 hours, IMX, NEAR, and HASH have gained over 10%, making them the only three coins out of the top 100 to see double-digit increases.

Timothy Misir, head of research at RialCenter, advised traders to maintain prudent position sizes.

“Institutional flows and large accumulation address activity support the bullish case; record options open interest and dense supply near $118,000 create tangible pinch points. Trade the market as it is: keep position sizes prudent, manage leverage tightly, and use $115,200 as the primary tape guardrail while watching $118,000 for a clear breakout signal,” Misir stated in an email.

Derivatives Positioning

by Omkar Godbole

• AVAX is the sole top 20 cryptocurrency to see an increase in perpetual futures open interest over the past 24 hours. The other coins have experienced flat to negative OI, indicating capital outflows.
• According to data from Glassnode, 5,000 BTC in long positions is vulnerable to liquidation if the price drops below $117,000. There is also a buildup of short positions at higher price levels, representing a sell-on-rise mentality.
• Most majors, excluding LINK, DOT, and TRX, have seen net selling in futures, as evidenced by their negative 24-hour cumulative volume deltas. This suggests a potential sharp drop in altcoins later today amid rising risk aversion on Wall Street.
• On the CME, bitcoin futures OI has bounced to 149K BTC, ending a two-month downtrend. Fresh shorts may be entering, as the annualized three-month premium remains below 10% and appears to be trending downward. Ether’s futures OI has risen back above 2 million ETH.
• On Deribit, traders continue to pursue put options linked to BTC, reflecting ongoing downside concerns. Flows over the OTC network involved calendar spreads and put writing.

Token Talk

By Oliver Knight

• Aster, the native token of its namesake decentralized exchange, surged 33% in the past 24 hours, contributing to a 650% gain since its issuance earlier this week.
• Nearly 330,000 wallets used Aster ahead of several exchange listings for the token, with daily trading volume hitting $420 million.
• The platform’s introduction hasn’t been without controversy. An Aster team member reassured users on Discord that “funds are safe” amidst concerns about withdrawals.
• It has also been claimed that Aster is simply a rebrand of Apollox, a decentralized perpetuals exchange that has been operating for years.
• Regardless, the platform has attracted interest in the past 24 hours and is seen by some traders as a viable alternative to HyperLiquid, which has a market cap of $18.7 billion compared to Aster’s $1 billion.