Bitcoin Holds Above $79K as ETF Inflows Extend Longest Run Since April

Bitcoin remained steady above $79,000 on Thursday as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their winning streak to eight consecutive sessions, while most altcoins traded lower.

Bitcoin briefly moved above $80,000, gaining more than 1% since midnight UTC as the market continued to absorb last week’s sharp rally. Behind the relatively stable price action, however, demand remained firm. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded another day of net inflows, bringing their combined eight-day total to approximately $2.8 billion, the longest inflow streak since April, according to SoSoValue.

The rally was initially fueled by the U.S. Treasury’s decision to double its purchases of long-term government bonds. The move helped Bitcoin break out of a six-week range and contributed to more than $3 billion in short liquidations. The announcement has also supported sentiment toward other risk assets, including gold.

Derivatives Market Remains Relatively Calm

Crypto futures activity increased over the past 24 hours, with trading volume rising 6% and open interest climbing 3%. The long-short taker ratio stood at 51.3%, indicating that market takers were actively absorbing available liquidity.

Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 has not been accompanied by a major increase in futures participation. Open interest remained around 700,000 BTC, suggesting traders are not aggressively adding leveraged positions. Lower derivatives participation can reduce the likelihood of sudden liquidation cascades and extreme price swings, leaving the rally more dependent on spot demand.

Ether futures open interest increased to 13.53 million ETH, up from 13.10 million a day earlier. However, the reading represents only a one-week high and remains well below the May peak of 15.68 million ETH.

Solana was more notable among the major tokens. SOL futures open interest increased 5% to 67.96 million SOL, the highest level since July 9. The increase supports the token’s move above $100, while positive cumulative volume delta indicates traders are actively executing long positions at market prices.

XRP, GRAM, CRO and SHIB also recorded increases in open interest, while ZEC saw a decline.

Across the broader market, most major tokens showed positive open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta, suggesting buyers remain more aggressive. Perpetual funding rates are still positive but remain below 10% on major cryptocurrencies, indicating bullish positioning without clear signs of excessive leverage.

Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, increased to 46% from 42% as the spot price climbed. The move points to greater demand for options and other derivatives used to manage potential price swings.

According to Deribit, institutional traders have been purchasing longer-dated put options for downside protection, even as shorter-term traders continue positioning for further gains.

Call options are dominating Bitcoin’s 24-hour volume rankings, particularly at strikes between $70,000 and $85,000. Higher-strike calls are attracting more activity than options below the current market price.

Ether options show a similar bias toward calls, although the $2,150 put expiring Sept. 25 currently ranks first by volume.

Altcoin Market Shows Mixed Performance

Bittensor’s TAO was among the strongest performers, climbing 5.3% since midnight to around $247. The token has recovered sharply from its August low near $185 and is now up approximately 18% over seven days.

Morpho gained around 2.7% to $2.60, extending a weekly advance of roughly 19%. Rising trading activity also reflected continued appetite for decentralized-finance assets.

Ethena’s ENA rose approximately 2.5% to $0.151, adding to last week’s 61% surge. Despite its recent recovery, the token remains well below levels reached before its multimonth decline of more than 90%.

Zcash moved in the opposite direction, falling about 4.1% to $783 and surrendering part of last week’s gains. ZEC is nevertheless still up roughly 41% over seven days following its sharp rally during last week’s short squeeze.

CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index has fallen to 38 out of 100, down from 51 last week, as investors increasingly turned their attention back toward Bitcoin following its breakout to monthly highs.

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