Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin Presses Resistance While Memecoin Activity Explodes

Bitcoin Pulls Back From Multiweek High as Altcoins and Memecoins Signal Rising Risk Appetite

Bitcoin (BTC $91,900) eased after briefly trading at its highest level since mid-November, once again stalling near a resistance zone that capped gains in early December. The pullback has drawn short-term selling interest, though some market participants are watching for a decisive break higher that could open the door to a move toward $98,900 — a former support band that held through much of mid-2025.

Despite bitcoin’s hesitation, the broader crypto market showed signs of renewed risk-taking.

Altcoins Outperform

Sui (SUI) extended its rally, gaining more than 3% since midnight UTC and roughly 16% over the past 24 hours. XRP continued to lead large-cap tokens, advancing about 29% since the start of the year as momentum pushed the token to multiweek highs.

Speculative activity also intensified in memecoins. Trading volume on Solana-based token issuer Pump.fun climbed to a record $1.27 billion, underscoring a pickup in retail participation. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) rose 1.5%, taking its year-to-date advance to 19%.

Futures and Options Positioning Shifts

Over the past day, more than $400 million in crypto futures positions were liquidated, with shorts accounting for the majority — suggesting traders were caught leaning bearish into the new year. Bitcoin’s global futures open interest remained stable near 660,000 BTC, while XRP open interest jumped to 2 billion XRP, the highest since Oct. 11, pointing to fresh capital entering the market.

Funding rates across most major tokens stayed slightly positive, reflecting a generally bullish bias, though negative rates in SOL, TRX, ZEC, SHIB and UNI indicate pockets of bearish positioning.

Volatility remained subdued. Volmex’s BVIV index, which tracks 30-day implied BTC implied volatility, fell back toward 44% after a brief uptick. On Deribit, demand for downside protection continued to ease as traders favored call options, with block trades dominated by BTC and ETH call spreads and BTC strangles.

Token-Specific Drivers

Memecoins are regaining attention after a difficult 2025 marked by steep drawdowns. Alongside Solana-based assets, activity has also increased on BNB Chain, where retail traders are gravitating toward predominantly Chinese-language tokens grouped under the “Four Meme” theme popularized by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

Outside of memes, Sui drew additional interest after Mysten Labs released research exploring privacy-preserving blockchain transactions, fueling speculation that privacy features could eventually be added to the network.

CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index rose to 27 out of 100 — still firmly in “bitcoin season,” but a clear improvement from December’s low of 14. Even so, elevated relative strength readings across several tokens suggest the risk of near-term consolidation or profit-taking.