Altcoins Climb on Thin Trading as Bitcoin Stays Below $83,500

Altcoins Outperform Major Cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin Remains Below $83,500

Smaller cryptocurrencies are leading the market’s gains on Monday, with the CoinDesk 80 climbing approximately 3% over the past 24 hours. That is more than twice the 1.2% increase recorded by the CoinDesk 5 index.

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to trade below $83,500 after briefly rising above $84,000 on Sunday. Ether (ETH) has gained around 2.5%, reaching approximately $2,560.

The rally is concentrated in the market’s less liquid segment. CoinDesk research shows that, one year after the October 10, 2025, flash crash, Bitcoin and Ether order-book depth has recovered to pre-crash levels in dollar terms. Liquidity for altcoins, however, has continued to decline.

“Market makers have returned to majors,” Joshua de Vos, CoinDesk’s research lead, said in a report published Saturday.

Institutional investment flows remain weak. According to SoSoValue, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $681 million in net outflows last week, their largest weekly withdrawal since June. Most of the selling occurred on Wednesday and Thursday. Spot Ether ETFs have also seen persistent withdrawals, recording no daily inflows since September 28. Their current nine-day outflow streak is the longest since June.

Oil prices have retreated, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures falling roughly 2% to $90 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russia would supply 300,000 metric tons of diesel to global markets. The arrangement represents a partial easing of sanctions. Investors are now looking ahead to Wednesday’s U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report.

Derivatives Market Positioning

Futures turnover is rising, but open interest remains relatively stable. Trading volume across the market reached $126 billion over 24 hours, an increase of 81%. Open interest (OI), which measures the dollar value of outstanding futures contracts, rose just 2.44% to $145.8 billion. This suggests traders are rapidly entering and exiting positions without a comparable increase in new exposure.

Buyers have regained a slight advantage in taker activity. Long positions accounted for 52% of 24-hour taker volume, up from 48% last week. Taker trades involve orders executed immediately against existing orders, making the measure useful for gauging whether buyers or sellers are acting more aggressively.

Zcash is attracting substantial futures volume, but new positioning remains limited. ZEC ranked fourth in 24-hour futures turnover at $5.46 billion, behind Bitcoin, Ether and SOL. Its price increased 6%, while open interest climbed 7%. Because OI is measured in dollars, price appreciation alone can raise the figure. After accounting for that effect, the number of open contracts increased by only about 1%, indicating limited fresh positioning. Annualized funding stands at 10%, meaning long traders are paying shorts to maintain their positions. Cumulative volume delta (CVD), which measures the balance between aggressive buying and selling, is only slightly positive.

NEAR’s advance is supported by stronger growth in open contracts. The token gained 10%, while OI increased 17%, implying that the number of open contracts rose by approximately 6%. Funding rates are positive, as they are for ZEC. NEAR also has the second-highest 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD among major tokens, suggesting buyers are driving the rally. Its price has reached its highest level since December.

Leverage demand for Bitcoin and Ether remains subdued. Open interest in both assets has barely changed over the past 24 hours and remains well below the peaks recorded earlier this year. Trading volumes are also within normal ranges.

Options markets are not signaling expectations of major price swings. Bitcoin’s implied volatility index, BVIV, is struggling to move above 40% after recovering from year-to-date lows near 34% last week. Ether’s implied volatility index shows a similar pattern. Implied volatility reflects the market’s expectations for future price fluctuations, so relatively flat readings indicate that options traders are not anticipating a major near-term move.

Short positions in Hyperliquid’s oil markets appear crowded. Traders holding short oil positions are paying funding rates of at least 100% on an annualized basis to long traders. Funding payments help keep perpetual futures prices aligned with spot markets, with the side holding more crowded positions typically paying the other. Such elevated costs suggest that bearish oil bets are heavily concentrated and could unwind quickly if prices rise.

Deribit options traders are purchasing protection against further declines. Bitcoin put options with strike prices between $55,000 and $80,000 account for a large share of 24-hour trading volume. Puts increase in value when prices fall and are commonly used to hedge downside risk. Ether options activity is more balanced, with both calls and puts appearing among the five most-traded contracts.

Token Developments

Starknet (STRK) has gained 76% over the past week. The token surged 33% on Friday and added another 54% on Saturday as the network considers separating from Ethereum to become an independent, quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain. Leverage has contributed to the rally, although the token faced profit-taking on Monday, falling 7.7%.

LayerZero (ZRO) also started the week strongly, climbing 21% in 24 hours to $2.41, its highest price since May 2025. Its market capitalization approached $1 billion. The move appears to reflect a rebound from oversold conditions rather than a specific news catalyst.

Zcash (ZEC) has advanced even as it appears in the money-laundering trail associated with the Ledger reseller supply-chain attack. The attacker moved stolen ether through Tornado Cash before converting funds into ZEC through NEAR Intents. Losses linked to devices sold by Malaysian reseller CryptoBilis have been estimated at $86 million to $93 million. Ledger has confirmed that at least one affected device contained an unauthorized hardware implant.

CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator has reached 66 out of 100, its highest reading in more than a year. The increase suggests traders are taking on more speculative positions as Bitcoin consolidates within the $80,000–$88,000 range.

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