Bitcoin remained confined to a familiar trading corridor on Thursday, even as volatility returned to select altcoins. During Asian hours, BTC changed hands near $68,600 after briefly testing the $70,000 level in a sharp U.S. session the previous day.
With February drawing to a close, the largest cryptocurrency continues to oscillate within a range that has defined price action since early in the month. Recent moves include a dip toward $62,500 on Tuesday and an earlier push to roughly $71,100 on Feb. 15, reinforcing the market’s sideways structure.
The pattern mirrors January’s consolidation, which eventually resolved higher before trapping breakout buyers. That episode was followed by a swift drop from $98,000 to $60,000 over three weeks, marking a lower high in the ongoing bearish cycle.
Altcoins Show Divergence
Performance across altcoins was uneven, with several tokens posting outsized gains while others lagged.
- Polkadot (DOT) surged 21% over the past 24 hours, though momentum cooled in European trading. The rally comes ahead of the network’s scheduled reward halving in March.
- Uniswap (UNI) climbed 15%, supported by a governance proposal that seeks to expand the protocol’s revenue capture across multiple layer-2 networks.
- HYPE rose 4.3% since midnight UTC, edging back toward the $30 level.
- Privacy coin Decred (DCR) gained 4%, reaching its strongest price since November.
- In contrast, Cosmos (ATOM) fell more than 6%, with selling extending into European hours despite no obvious bearish catalyst — underscoring ongoing liquidity sensitivity in parts of the altcoin market.
Among larger-cap assets, Cardano (ADA) and Ethereum (ETH) advanced roughly 8.5% since Wednesday morning. Notably, open interest increased alongside prices in both markets, indicating that leveraged futures activity — rather than spot demand — likely fueled the move, according to Coinalyze.
Derivatives Activity Accelerates
Total open interest across crypto futures markets climbed more than 6.6% to nearly $100 billion, outpacing the rise in overall market capitalization and suggesting fresh capital deployment in derivatives.
ADA and ETH futures led the expansion, with open interest up 21% and 15%, respectively. Several other altcoins recorded gains near 9%, while bitcoin’s comparatively modest 3% increase appeared largely tied to spot price appreciation.
Volatility indicators remain subdued. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index (BVIV) and ether’s equivalent (EVIV) sit near weekly lows, signaling relatively calm conditions that may support further upside. Meanwhile, annualized perpetual funding rates across major tokens have stabilized slightly above zero, reflecting a renewed tilt toward long positioning.
Options flows on Deribit show increased demand for bitcoin call options with strike prices between $85,000 and $90,000 following the latest rebound. Even so, the broader options market remains skewed toward puts, highlighting persistent downside hedging. The $60,000 put remains the single most crowded position, with more than $1.4 billion in notional open interest.
Macro Backdrop
In traditional markets, U.S. equity index futures were little changed. Results from NVIDIA failed to generate sustained gains, as investors continue to question whether artificial intelligence–linked valuations have stretched too far.
For now, bitcoin’s range remains intact — but the steady build-up in leveraged positioning suggests traders are preparing for a potential breakout.
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