Bitcoin rebounded on Thursday as a softer U.S. dollar helped lift cryptocurrencies alongside stocks and precious metals. PONS and Arbitrum also extended their gains for a third consecutive trading session.
BTC was around $77,890 Thursday morning, up 0.76% from midnight UTC. The move recovered part of Wednesday’s decline, although Bitcoin remained 2.89% lower over the past week.
The broader market also benefited from the weaker dollar. Gold rose 0.97% to roughly $4,434, while silver gained 0.88% to $65.94 after both metals pulled back on Wednesday. Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.2%, and S&P 500 futures climbed 0.15%. The dollar index fell 0.32% to 99.259.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs, meanwhile, posted $9.3 million in net outflows for a second consecutive day. The amount was considerably smaller than Tuesday’s $239 million withdrawal.
Most altcoins advanced, although the altcoin season index remained at 35/100. Lighter (LIT) and Arbitrum (ARB) were among the strongest performers, with ARB continuing to benefit from revenue associated with its Robinhood Chain agreement.
Derivatives Market
Crypto futures positioning has become more balanced. The 24-hour long-short taker volume ratio moved to neutral after showing a bearish tilt a day earlier. Total open interest remained close to $136 billion, while aggregate trading volume declined 7% to $187 billion.
ARB continued to stand out. Open interest in the token rose nearly 10% to 1.58 billion ARB, setting a new record, according to Coinglass. ARB was also the strongest-performing top-100 cryptocurrency over the previous 24 hours.
The broader derivatives backdrop remained constructive, with the 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta and annualized perpetual funding rates both positive.
LIT presented a different picture. Its spot price reached a record $2.85 as the token became the second-best performer over 24 hours. However, futures open interest continued falling. The divergence indicates that spot traders are likely driving the rally, while the lack of derivatives participation could leave the move vulnerable to a quick reversal.
Bitcoin and ether futures also showed limited positioning, with open interest remaining close to recent multi-week lows.
For major tokens, futures activity generally continued to favor buyers. Positive OI-adjusted CVD readings for BTC and ETH indicate that longs are increasingly being opened through market orders rather than passive limit orders, a development typically viewed as supportive of further upside.
TRX short exposure also moderated. Its annualized perpetual funding rate improved to around -23%, compared with -80% earlier in the week. Although the overall positioning remains bearish, fewer crowded shorts reduce the potential for a sharp short squeeze.
Volatility remained relatively subdued. Bitcoin’s and ether’s 30-day implied volatility measures continued to signal limited concern in the options market, a backdrop that could support further strength in spot prices.
Bitcoin options also showed continued demand for upside exposure. Deribit data showed $82,000 and $84,000 calls among the most actively traded contracts over the previous 24 hours. However, BTC’s seven-day skew has retreated from recent highs, while ether options flows remained mixed.
PONS and ARB Extend Rallies
PONS was the biggest altcoin gainer Thursday, surging 30.85% over 24 hours to $0.50. The token has now gained 318.72% over the past week.
PONS is tied to the largest revenue-generating launchpad on Robinhood Chain. Around 80% of the protocol’s revenue is allocated to buying back and burning the token, creating a more direct form of value accrual than many other assets associated with the Robinhood Chain narrative.
ARB climbed another 16.77% over 24 hours to about $0.13, extending its advance into a third session. Its market capitalization moved above $916 million, while daily trading volume reached $486 million.
That figure was more than nine times its average daily volume of roughly $50 million last week.
Uniswap’s UNI moved sharply lower, dropping 8.62% over 24 hours to $5.75 and becoming the day’s biggest large-cap decliner. Despite the pullback, UNI remained 29.11% higher over seven days after being one of the leading DeFi performers during the broader rally.
Monero continued to climb, adding 4.30% since midnight to trade near $515. Pump.fun gained 4.96% to $0.004296, while LIT rose another 3.13% to $3.92.
Bittensor’s TAO advanced 2.33% to $222.31 but remained below its level of approximately $247 from a week earlier.
