Crypto Markets Rise Alongside Asian Tech Stocks as Zcash Extends Upgrade Rally

Bitcoin climbed to a one-week peak as Asian technology stocks recovered, while SpaceX and Tesla established special committees to explore a potential merger.

Bitcoin (BTC) reached $83,725.98 at its highest point in a week, trading near $83,500 on Wednesday and gaining 0.6% since midnight UTC. A rebound in Asian technology shares, supported by corporate earnings, helped improve sentiment across risk assets.

SpaceX and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) set a positive tone after reporting strong results in the U.S. on Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 3.29%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.44%. Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA), announced that the two companies had formed special committees to examine a possible merger. Such a deal would bring together more than 30,000 bitcoin worth approximately $2.5 billion across their balance sheets.

Alternative cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin higher. Ether (ETH) added 0.6% to trade near $2,460, while the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) gained 0.47%, compared with a 0.64% advance in the CoinDesk 5 (CD5). The CoinDesk Memecoin Index outperformed the broader market, rising 1.2%, while the CoinDesk 100 increased 0.84%.

Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade, designed to reduce transaction finality to approximately 150 milliseconds, is scheduled to go live Wednesday. Meta Platforms (META) is also set to release its earnings after the U.S. market closes.

Derivatives positioning

Crypto futures activity strengthened, accompanied by a sharp increase in liquidations. Trading volume across crypto futures reached $190 billion over 24 hours, up 19%. Open interest (OI) climbed nearly 4% to $145 billion, while liquidations surged 76% to $284 million. The taker long-to-short volume ratio stood at approximately 53% to 47%, indicating a modest preference for bullish positions.

Bitcoin and Ether’s advances appear to be driven primarily by price appreciation rather than a substantial influx of new leveraged capital. Over 24 hours, BTC rose 2.6% and ETH gained 3.35%, while their respective futures open interest increased 3% and 2%. Bitcoin’s OI growth roughly matched its price advance, suggesting limited fresh capital entering the market. Ether’s open interest grew more slowly than its price, potentially indicating that traders reduced their positions in coin terms. Overall, leverage remains relatively subdued, with open interest still below historical peaks.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies are attracting additional leveraged positions. Zcash (ZEC) recorded a 24% increase in open interest alongside a 12% price gain, indicating that traders are opening new positions. Its annualized funding rate reached 10%, although its 24-hour open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) remained negative. This suggests that sell orders are being executed aggressively against buyers despite the price rally.

Monero (XMR) saw open interest climb 8% to more than $300 million, approaching record levels. Its spot price advanced 2%, while its funding rate stood at 4%. Monero also recorded a positive CVD, making it the only major cryptocurrency with that reading.

Short sellers in BTW are facing particularly expensive funding conditions. Its annualized funding rate fell to minus 77%, reflecting the substantial cost bears are willing to pay to maintain short positions. The imbalance could leave the token vulnerable to volatility, as a sudden price rebound might trigger a short squeeze. Arbitrum (ARB) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) also posted slightly negative funding rates.

Expected volatility in Bitcoin and Ether has eased. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, dropped below 40%, reversing part of its rise above 42% on October 15. Ether’s EVIV displayed a similar pattern, indicating that options traders increasingly expect relatively stable price action.

Bitcoin options continued to show a preference for downside protection, even as the most actively traded contracts focused on higher prices. On Deribit, the one-month put-call skew stood at 8%, indicating that puts commanded a relative premium over calls. Similar trends appeared in the one-week and three-month measures. Nevertheless, calls with strike prices above Bitcoin’s current spot level accounted for the five most-traded bets. Much of the activity involved synthetic, multi-leg strategies rather than straightforward bullish wagers.

Ether options also leaned toward puts, although the downside bias was less pronounced than in Bitcoin’s market. Trading volumes presented a more mixed picture, suggesting less decisive positioning among ETH options traders.

Token developments

Zcash (ZEC) advanced 0.9% since midnight UTC to approximately $1,260, extending its 24-hour gains to around 11%. The rally followed developers’ announcement of a November activation date for NU7, an upgrade that will reduce block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, allowing payments to confirm three times faster. The proposal also directs 60% of transaction fees into a reserve for distribution over time. Despite the latest recovery, ZEC remains down approximately 12% over the past month.

Near Protocol (NEAR) led gains across the CoinDesk 100, rising 6% to roughly $5.23. The move coincided with increased activity around NEAR Intents, the network’s cross-chain swap product, which allocates part of its fees toward token buybacks. Investors are also watching a governance proposal that would gradually reduce annual token issuance from 2.5% to 1.6% over two years.

Ethena (ENA), the token associated with the USDe synthetic dollar, climbed 4.8%, recovering some ground after losing approximately 22% over the past month. USDe’s circulating supply remains near $4.7 billion, below the $7.5 billion threshold that would trigger ENA buybacks.

Aerodrome (AERO), the decentralized exchange token on Base, recorded the steepest decline in the CoinDesk 100, falling 4.4%. The drop erased part of its approximately 6% gain over the past week. Morpho (MORPHO) also declined 2.7%, reflecting weaker performance across decentralized finance tokens. The sector index gained just 0.22%, underperforming the CoinDesk 100’s 0.84% advance.

Injective (INJ) slipped 2.1%, trimming an approximately 18% gain accumulated over the past month. Its recent strength had been supported by pending U.S. exchange-traded fund applications linked to the token.

About The Author

ctleditor

See author's posts