Bitcoin moved within a narrow band on Wednesday as derivatives markets steadied and select altcoins outperformed ahead of key macro signals and a closely watched crypto gathering.
The largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), traded around $68,000, up roughly 0.9% since midnight UTC. Prices have largely oscillated between $65,100 and $72,000 since Feb. 6, following a sharp Feb. 5 selloff that dragged BTC to its weakest level since October 2024. Since then, volatility has compressed, leaving spot markets range-bound.
Altcoins, however, are showing mixed but notable momentum. Monero (XMR) advanced about 3% on the day, while Cardano’s ADA added 1.7%. In contrast, Zcash (ZEC) slipped 3.5% and Hyperliquid’s HYPE fell 1.1% over the same stretch, underscoring the selective nature of flows across the broader market.
The subdued tone in crypto coincides with a modest rebound in U.S. equity futures. Contracts tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 0.57% and 0.66%, respectively, as investors positioned ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, due later Wednesday. Traders are looking for clues on the trajectory of monetary policy amid persistent macro uncertainty.
Derivatives signal stabilization
Market structure suggests a transition from deleveraging to consolidation. Open interest remains steady near $15.5 billion, indicating that the recent flush of excess leverage has given way to a more balanced footing.
Retail positioning appears to have cooled, with funding rates flattening or turning slightly negative — Binance funding hovered near -0.11%. Institutional sentiment, however, remains constructive, with the three-month annualized futures basis holding around 3%.
In options, activity reflects relative equilibrium. Over the past 24 hours, call and put volumes were nearly evenly split at 49% and 51%. The one-week 25-delta skew has eased to 11%, pointing to a moderation in short-term downside hedging demand. Still, implied volatility shows short-term backwardation, with a pronounced spike at the front end of the curve before tapering to roughly 49% for longer-dated maturities.
Liquidations totaled $193 million over the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass, with longs accounting for 62% of forced closures versus 38% for shorts. BTC led with $72 million in liquidations, followed by ETH at $52 million and other tokens at $12 million. Binance’s liquidation heatmap highlights $68,800 as a key upside level where further liquidations could be triggered if prices extend higher.
Token focus: Event-driven flows build
The “altcoin season” index has ticked up to 34 out of 100, recovering from 22 on Feb. 8, suggesting improving relative performance among smaller-cap tokens even as overall volatility remains subdued.
Wednesday’s standout performer is WLFI, the Trump family-backed DeFi token, which climbed 8.8% since midnight and 18.5% over the past 24 hours. Traders appear to be positioning ahead of the project’s crypto forum at Mar-a-Lago, set for Wednesday, where executives from Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq and Franklin Templeton are expected to attend.
Such pre-event rallies often carry “buy the rumor, sell the news” risk, as speculative positioning unwinds once announcements materialize.
Elsewhere, lending protocol Morpho’s native MORPHO token extended its recent rally, gaining 7% over the past 24 hours and 36% on the week, as traders rotate into higher-beta names in search of momentum within an otherwise stagnant broader market
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