Today’s Market: Bitcoin Faces Bearish Pressure; Ye’s YZY Token Spikes and Drops

Bitcoin’s Brief Surge Fizzles as Long-Term Sentiment Turns Bearish; DOGE, XRP, and SOL Follow Suit

Bitcoin’s late Wednesday rally to $144,700 proved short-lived as a key long-term sentiment indicator shifted bearish for the first time since June 2023. Dogecoin (DOGE), XRP, and Solana (SOL) also declined, though ether (ETH) showed more resilience.

Despite this, the CoinDesk 20 Index rose roughly 0.7% over the past 24 hours, with the broader CoinDesk 80 Index up 0.4%. Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about bitcoin’s future.

Jag Kooner, Bitfinex’s head of derivatives, noted, “Donald Trump’s endorsement of including crypto assets in 401(k) plans adds structural support. While its market impact will take time, this could gradually shift capital from speculative trading to pension-style holdings, deepening crypto’s integration in U.S. capital markets.”

Derivatives and Market Positioning

Bitcoin and ether futures open interest stalled at high levels—over 700,000 BTC and 14.2 million ETH respectively—reflecting range-bound trading ahead of the Jackson Hole central bankers’ meeting.

LINK futures remain near record open interest, with prices climbing close to $27, their highest since January. Most top-10 tokens, excluding BNB, saw declines in open interest in the last day.

HYPE leads crypto majors with annualized funding rates above 25%, signaling strong bullish demand.

On CME, bitcoin futures’ recent recovery stalled, with the three-month premium falling to about 7%. Meanwhile, ether futures open interest keeps growing, nearing 2 million ETH, signaling rising institutional preference for ether over bitcoin.

At Deribit, the 180-day bitcoin options skew dropped to -0.42, the strongest demand for downside protection since June 2023, while longer-term ether options favor calls.

Over-the-counter flows at Paradigm showed demand for bitcoin puts funded by selling calls, with mixed ether options activity.

Volatility indices for bitcoin and ether held steady around 36% and 70%, respectively, indicating no major price swings expected from the Jackson Hole event.

Token Spotlight: Ye’s YZY Memecoin

YZY Money, a Solana memecoin associated with Ye (formerly Kanye West), launched Thursday with an explosive 6,800% price spike before dropping below $1. Initial posts on Ye’s X account raised hack concerns, but a later video—possibly AI-generated—confirmed the launch.

YZY’s tokenomics resemble the TRUMP coin: 70% allocated to Ye, 10% to liquidity, and 20% for public sale. Ye reportedly pushed for 80% initially but settled on 70%.

On-chain data reveals insider trading: wallet 6MNWV8 purchased $450,611 worth at $0.35, later selling part for $1.39 million, netting over $1.5 million including unrealized gains. Another whale invested $2.28 million, now holding $6 million in gains.

Liquidity was seeded single-sided with only YZY tokens, allowing holders to withdraw liquidity freely—a structure criticized for similarity to Argentina’s controversial LIBRA token.

Retail investors faced losses; one wallet lost nearly $500,000 after buying at $1.56 and selling at $1.06 within hours. The episode highlights risks from insider-heavy allocations and liquidity design, despite YZY’s brief market cap surge near $3 billion.

Stargate Acquisition Battle Intensifies

Wormhole has entered the fray to outbid LayerZero’s $110 million offer for Stargate, requesting a five-day delay of the governance vote to allow token holders time for due diligence.

Stargate boasts $4 billion processed in July, $345 million total value locked, and a treasury with $92 million in stablecoins and ether plus $55 million in STG and other assets.

LayerZero’s proposal includes control over the treasury and future revenues but faces criticism for undervaluing Stargate and shortchanging token holders.

Wormhole insists STG holders “deserve a more competitive process” and believes its higher bid offers better long-term value.

A Wormhole-Stargate merger would combine Stargate’s liquidity pools with Wormhole’s multi-chain integrations, forming one of crypto’s largest cross-chain hubs.

The Wormhole Foundation asserts the deal would unlock significant value and provide lasting benefits for both STG and Wormhole token holders.

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