Bitcoin Loses Market Share While Hyperliquid Sees Volume Surge to $3.4B

Crypto Market Snapshot: Bitcoin Stumbles Despite Powell Boost, Ether Derivatives Surge

Bitcoin Falls Back as Bullish Catalyst Fades

Bitcoin has reversed nearly all gains made after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish remarks last Friday, slipping back to pre-speech levels around $109,600. Despite Powell hinting at potential rate cuts, BTC failed to hold its post-announcement rally, reinforcing the bearish tone dominating the charts.

Technical indicators show a key support level at $107,500. A break below could invite more selling pressure. The market’s failure to capitalize on favorable macro news raises concerns about underlying strength.

Rotation into Ether Accelerates

While Bitcoin struggles, Ether (ETH) continues to attract institutional interest. Spot and derivatives flows show growing rotation into ETH, with Bitcoin’s dominance dropping from 60% to 57% — a notable shift, though still above 2021’s sub-50% “altseason” territory.

QCP Capital noted: “Positioning reflects growing belief that ETH could outperform, particularly if staking ETF approvals come later this year.”

Derivatives Markets: Diverging Signals

BTC and Hyperliquid (HYPE) futures open interest rose by 1% and 3% over 24 hours, bucking the broader downtrend in top assets. BTC futures OI climbed from 260K to 282K BTC, suggesting traders are selling into strength — a classic “sell-the-rally” pattern.

In contrast, Ether’s OI rose during the Friday rally but has eased since, a sign of bullish exhaustion rather than new bearish bets. Most tokens continue to show positive funding rates, hinting at a mild long bias — with ADA being the exception.

Altcoin Frenzy: $9B OI Spike in One Day

Altcoin derivatives exploded with over $9.2 billion in new futures open interest added Friday alone. Total altcoin OI hit a record $61.7 billion. Glassnode warned this kind of leverage-driven buildup can drive extreme volatility and fragility across crypto markets.

Institutional Activity: Ether Outshines on CME

CME Ether options notional open interest crossed $1 billion — a record high — supported by growing large-holder activity. Ether futures OI also surpassed 2 million ETH.

Bitcoin options OI rose to $4.85 billion, the most since April, even as futures lag. On Deribit, BTC options showed a tilt toward puts through December, signaling hedging or bearish bias. ETH options favored calls — aligning with the rotation trend.

Hyperliquid Emerges as Spot Market Powerhouse

Hyperliquid posted a record-breaking $3.4 billion in 24-hour spot volume, led by massive BTC and ETH inflows and robust trading via Hyperunit. That includes $1.5 billion in BTC trading alone — making Hyperliquid the second-largest BTC spot venue globally.

The platform’s Layer-1 infrastructure (HyperCore + HyperBFT consensus) and HyperEVM compatibility enable high-speed, sub-second execution — attracting both institutions and DeFi-native users.

Already dominant in DEX perpetuals with up to 70% market share, Hyperliquid now positions itself as a leading liquidity engine for the entire digital asset space.

For HYPE token holders, surging spot activity means direct upside: trading fees fund ongoing buybacks via Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund, strengthening the token’s value proposition with every volume spike.

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