Bitcoin, Ether Tread Water as Metals Take Center Stage in Thin Trading: Crypto Markets Today

Bitcoin and ether were little changed amid thin liquidity on Tuesday as a rally in gold and silver underscored a broader risk-off rotation that is also benefiting select crypto tokens.

The crypto market remained range-bound, constrained by subdued trading activity and a low-liquidity backdrop. Bitcoin’s daily trading volume slid 25% over the past 24 hours to $35 billion, while ether volumes fell 21% to $24.6 billion.

Muted price action reflects declining volatility and growing investor apathy across crypto markets, unfolding alongside a powerful surge in precious metals. Gold was trading near $5,085 after setting multiple record highs over the past week, while silver has gained more than 57% since the start of the year as traders rotate into perceived safe-haven assets.

The shift toward metals is especially visible on derivatives exchange HyperLiquid, where daily silver futures volume is approaching $1 billion — surpassed only by bitcoin and ether. However, funding rates show a negative skew, suggesting traders are increasingly shorting into the rally rather than positioning for further upside.

Risk-off sentiment could persist following fresh geopolitical tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced new 25% tariffs on South Korea, days after a political standoff with the European Union over Greenland, adding to broader macro uncertainty.

Derivatives

More than $270 million in leveraged crypto futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with shorts accounting for the bulk of losses. The data suggests traders were positioned for a deeper sell-off after last week’s 7% drop in bitcoin but were caught offside by the rebound from $86,000 to nearly $88,000.

Volmex’s 30-day implied volatility indices for bitcoin and ether remain near multi-month lows, pointing to an absence of panic despite bearish signals from flows and technical indicators.

Open interest in futures tied to HyperLiquid’s HYPE token jumped 30% to above 57 million HYPE, nearing December’s record high of 57.44 million. The decentralized exchange is reported to have regained market share from rivals Aster and Lighter.

Futures open interest in ETH, SOL, XRP and DOGE rose 2% to 3%, while BTC open interest was largely unchanged. Perpetual funding rates across major tokens remain modestly positive, indicating a mild bullish bias, though rates for TRX and DOGE have turned negative, signaling increased short positioning.

On Deribit, BTC and ETH put options continue to trade at a premium to calls, reflecting lingering downside concerns. Some traders note that downside hedging has become crowded, leaving call options relatively cheap for those with a bullish outlook. Bearish strategies — including put spreads, volatility trades, straddles and strangles — accounted for nearly half of all BTC block trades over the past 24 hours. In ether markets, iron condors dominated, pointing to expectations of continued range-bound trading.

Token Talk

Strong activity in silver futures has lifted HyperLiquid’s native HYPE token more than 22% over the past 24 hours, with trading volume more than doubling to $510 million.

Privacy-focused tokens zcash (ZEC) and monero (XMR) rose 4% and 3%, respectively, since midnight UTC, outperforming bitcoin and major altcoins such as ether, XRP and solana, which slipped between 0.4% and 1%.

Pump.fun’s native PUMP token surged 14.5% over the same period as traders sought opportunities in the memecoin sector despite broader market stagnation. January trading volume on Pump.fun has already exceeded $10 billion — its highest level since June — with four days remaining in the month, according to DefiLlama.

Meanwhile, the bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) is little changed year-to-date, while the altcoin-weighted CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) is up 3.6%.

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