Bitcoin Regains the $93K Level; Altcoins Bounce in Broader Market Rebound.

Crypto markets staged a broad rebound on Wednesday, with bitcoin, ether and most major altcoins advancing sharply—even as Zcash (ZEC) prolonged its sharp weekly downturn.

Bitcoin climbed 6.6% over the past 24 hours to reach $93,000, reversing a recent pullback, while ether recovered above $3,050. The rally marked a welcome shift in momentum after weeks of sluggish price action.
Zcash was the clear outlier: despite being one of the strongest performers in recent months, the privacy token has tumbled more than 38% in the past week as traders unwind positions following heavily overbought conditions.

Perpetual futures activity strengthened alongside the rebound. Trading volume across major perpetual exchanges rose over 5% to $44 billion in the past day, signaling that the latest move was supported by both spot demand and renewed leverage.

Futures markets showed signs of stabilization, with open interest (OI) increasing for BTC, ETH and other leading tokens. SUI, SOL, BNB and ADA posted the sharpest increases in OI. Funding rates remain mostly positive, reflecting a continued preference for bullish long exposure, although TRX and WLFI remain exceptions.

Institutional derivatives on the CME told a different story. Open interest in standard bitcoin futures dropped to 121,670 contracts—its lowest reading since February 2024. BTC options OI slid to 46,000 BTC, wiping out gains that had accumulated since early October. Interest in CME’s regulated products appears to be fading.
Ether futures positioning has also thinned, with OI falling to 1.95 million ETH, the lowest since September. ETH options OI declined to 275,000 ETH from a recent peak of about 351,000 ETH.

On Deribit, BTC and ETH puts continue to trade at a premium to calls, although the pricing gap has narrowed since early in the week. Block trades highlighted BTC strangles and call butterfly structures, along with ether put spreads and call diagonal calendar spreads.

Altcoins showed strong conviction overnight, with many outperforming bitcoin’s 6.5% rise. Top movers included SUI and Chainlink’s LINK, which surged 30.8% and 24%, respectively. The gains suggest that the downtrend in place since early October is showing signs of weakening and may be vulnerable to a bullish reversal.

Liquidity, however, remains fragile. Market depth is still thin following October’s sharp sell-off, meaning price swings may remain exaggerated and the market could quickly revisit key support if negative headlines emerge.

Zcash extended its slide with another 3% drop in the past 24 hours, deepening its seven-day losses to 38% as traders continue taking profits after a strong September–November rally.

Meanwhile, the “altcoin season” index stands at 21/100—near record lows—indicating that although some altcoins are outperforming, investors broadly remain focused on bitcoin over more speculative plays.