Today in Crypto: BTC Climbs Without Derivative Backing, While YZY Tokens Inflict Losses

Crypto Market Overview: Altcoins Outperform as BTC Faces Derivative Pressure; YZY Traders Bear Brunt of Losses

The cryptocurrency market presented a mixed picture on Thursday, with altcoins leading gains while Bitcoin’s recovery shows signs of potential resistance.

The CoinDesk 80 Index, tracking a broader set of altcoins, surged 4% over the past 24 hours, while the CoinDesk 20 Index, representing the largest tokens, increased by less than 1%. Bitcoin (BTC) approached $113,600, with on-chain data suggesting sellers may reemerge near that level.

“Bitcoin is forming its third consecutive rising daily candle, trading above $113K this morning,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “The combination of altcoin growth and stock index gains has boosted risk appetite, while BTC’s earlier dip to $110K renewed buyer interest.”

Derivatives Insights
Despite BTC’s modest gains, derivatives activity suggests caution: open interest (OI) in USDT- and USD-denominated perpetual futures across major exchanges—including Binance, Bybit, OKX, Deribit, and Hyperliquid—has fallen, accompanied by low spot volumes. Ether shows similar trends.

• SOL, DOGE, and ADA saw increases in futures OI, while most other major tokens experienced outflows.
• Funding rates across major coins declined near zero, signaling neutral market sentiment.
• On the CME, BTC futures OI remains below December highs, with the three-month annualized basis under 10%. However, BTC options OI reached 42.89K BTC, the highest since May 29.
• ETH CME futures OI climbed to a record 2.2 million ETH, indicating strong institutional participation.
• Deribit data show BTC put options trading at higher premiums than calls across all expiries, reflecting a bearish tilt, while ETH’s call bias has weakened.
• On OTC network Paradigm, block trades included BTC butterfly options and an outright ETH call at the $5,000 strike for Aug. 30 expiry.

Token Spotlight: YZY
The Solana-based YZY memecoin, linked to Ye (Kanye West), has left most buyers with losses. Bubblemaps reports more than 70,000 wallets in the red following the token’s debut, which was marketed as part of a “YZY Money” ecosystem with payment rails and a branded card.

• 51,800+ wallets lost $1–$1,000
• 5,269 wallets lost $1,000–$10,000
• 1,025 wallets lost $10,000–$100,000
• 108 wallets faced six-figure losses; three traders lost over $1 million each
• Only 11 wallets earned $1 million+, 99 gained over $100,000, and 2,541 earned at least $1,000—less than 0.1% of traders captured significant profits

Structural flaws amplified the disparity. About 70% of the supply was reserved for Yeezy Investments LLC, 20% sold publicly, and 10% allocated for liquidity. The liquidity pool, seeded solely with YZY tokens and lacking a stablecoin pairing, left the market vulnerable to rapid withdrawals, reminiscent of Argentina’s LIBRA token collapse.

The YZY case illustrates a familiar pattern for celebrity-backed memecoins: substantial gains accrue to insiders, while the broader retail base bears most of the risk.

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