Bitcoin stays above $72,000 as crypto markets cool off after the latest breakout move.

Bitcoin and Ethereum posted modest gains on Thursday as the broader crypto market paused following the previous day’s breakout, with traders evaluating macroeconomic risks, derivatives positioning and whether bitcoin can sustain a move toward $80,000.

Both cryptocurrencies rose less than 1% as investors consolidated positions after Wednesday’s advance. Bitcoin has managed to stay above the $70,000 mark—an area that previously rejected several rallies—but the anticipated breakout toward $80,000 has yet to materialize.

Global equities were supported by reports that Iran had quietly approached the United States about a potential agreement to end the conflict in exchange for limits on missile production. The news helped ease geopolitical concerns and improved sentiment in risk assets.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) slipped following the reports, though it remains roughly 3.5% higher since late January as traders continue to assess possible policy moves by the Federal Reserve. Markets are also watching the Strait of Hormuz closely, as any disruption there could push inflation higher and potentially force the Fed to keep interest rates elevated.

Historically, bitcoin tends to strengthen when the U.S. dollar weakens and faces pressure when the currency rises.

Derivatives positioning

Activity in derivatives markets has picked up alongside the recent rally. Bitcoin futures open interest climbed to around 680,000 BTC, its highest level in nearly two weeks, confirming the strength behind the latest price move.

Open interest in ether futures increased to roughly 13.41 million ETH, marking the highest level since Jan. 31. Meanwhile, activity in XRP futures remains muted, with open interest staying below 1.7 billion tokens. Futures tied to Solana’s SOL show a similarly subdued pattern.

At the same time, open interest in futures linked to tokenized gold assets such as Tether Gold and PAX Gold continues to decline as cryptocurrency prices rise, suggesting some investors may be shifting capital into major digital assets while the gold rally slows.

Futures activity in privacy-focused Zcash is also beginning to recover, ending a two-month downtrend in open interest.

Perpetual futures funding rates for bitcoin and ether remain slightly positive, indicating a modest bullish bias among traders. However, funding rates for XRP and SOL remain mildly negative.

Volatility indicators suggest a relatively stable market environment. The 30-day implied volatility indexes for bitcoin and ether remain within recent ranges, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has retreated to around 21% after reaching about 28% earlier in the week.

In the options market on Deribit, bearish put skews in bitcoin and ether have eased somewhat, though demand for higher-strike call options—bullish bets—has increased. Large block trades have also highlighted interest in call calendar diagonal spreads for both cryptocurrencies.

Token developments

Elsewhere, layer-1 blockchain project MANTRA completed a token migration and rebrand, replacing the OM ticker with MANTRA and introducing a 1:4 redenomination. The change helped push the token’s price up roughly 25% over the past 24 hours.

Privacy tokens had struggled in February, with Zcash, Dash and Monero all experiencing sharp corrections after a strong start to the year. However, monero has recently begun to reverse that trend, gaining about 5.2% since midnight UTC and roughly 9.8% over the past week.

Large-cap cryptocurrencies led market gains over the past day. The CoinDesk 5 Index and CoinDesk 10 Index both advanced around 3.1%, while the CoinDesk DeFi Select Index and CoinDesk Computing Select Index recorded smaller increases of about 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Analysts say that if bitcoin continues climbing toward $80,000 and stabilizes at higher levels, profits from major cryptocurrencies could eventually rotate into more speculative altcoins. For now, however, the market appears cautious as it consolidates following the recent breakout.

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