Bitcoin broke above $81,000 on Friday, moving beyond the resistance that had capped its advance in late August. The broader crypto market also moved higher, with privacy-focused tokens leading the gains.
BTC traded near $81,060 Friday morning, down 0.22% from midnight UTC after reaching $81,309 overnight. The breakout marked a clear move above the previous late-August resistance level.
Other major cryptocurrencies also posted strong gains. Ether climbed 4.52% over the past 24 hours, XRP rose 5.58% and Solana gained 3.04%. The market recorded roughly $318.6 million in liquidations, according to Coinalyze.
Privacy coins were particularly strong. Dash jumped 19.24%, Zcash advanced 16.55% and Monero gained 5.89%. No specific catalyst immediately explained the sudden surge across the sector.
In traditional markets, gold rose 0.17% to $4,480 and silver gained 0.25% to $67.11. The dollar index was little changed at 99.063, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.42%.
Derivatives Point to Stronger Buying
Bitcoin derivatives data showed a modest bullish shift. Futures takers were positioned 51.4% long versus 48.5% short, indicating slightly stronger demand from traders executing against existing orders.
Dash showed particularly strong derivatives momentum. The token gained roughly 25% at one point over the previous 24 hours and traded around $53.10, while open interest increased approximately 20%.
The combination of rising price and open interest suggests that new positions were entering the market as DASH advanced. Positive funding rates and a positive normalized cumulative volume delta also supported the bullish setup, while funding near 10% indicated that leverage had not yet become excessive.
Zcash displayed similar characteristics. Open interest, CVD and perpetual futures positioning all pointed toward continued buying, without obvious signs of excessive speculation.
TRON stood apart from the trend. Annualized perpetual funding rates for TRX fell to -59%, remaining deeply negative after briefly improving to around -20% the previous day.
The negative funding suggests short positions are becoming crowded, potentially leaving TRX exposed to a short squeeze if buyers gain further control.
Bitcoin Open Interest Rises
BTC futures open interest increased to roughly 709,000 BTC from 687,000 BTC a day earlier.
While open interest has remained around the 700,000 BTC area for some time, the latest increase coincided with Bitcoin’s move through $80,000. Positive funding and a positive OI-adjusted 24-hour CVD suggest much of the fresh positioning is tilted toward longs.
Ether futures also saw a small increase in open interest. Solana and XRP, however, have not experienced a comparable rise in derivatives activity despite their price gains.
SOL futures open interest remained largely unchanged over the previous 24 to 48 hours even after the token moved above $100. XRP showed a similar pattern.
Call Options Dominate Activity
Volatility remains relatively subdued. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, was around 40%, well below the roughly 50% spike recorded in August.
Traditional markets are showing similar conditions, with the VIX near 14%, its lowest level since January. The low-volatility backdrop could support further risk-taking if demand remains intact.
Bitcoin options activity also showed a bullish tilt. Call options dominated the 24-hour volume rankings, with the $80,000 call expiring Sept. 25 among the most actively traded contracts. Much of the activity centered on strikes between $85,000 and $95,000.
Ether options followed the same pattern, with the $2,800 call expiring Sept. 18 recording the most trading activity.
Privacy Tokens Extend Their Rally
Pons continued its remarkable advance, gaining 31.50% over 24 hours to $0.6607 and bringing its seven-day increase to 379.33%. Trading volume reached $151 million, while the Robinhood Chain launchpad token added more than $100 million in market capitalization during the week.
Zcash rose to around $967, up 16.55% on the day and 22.21% over seven days. Its open interest surged 38.72%, while funding turned negative at -0.0118%, meaning short sellers were paying to maintain positions as ZEC moved higher.
Dash advanced 19.24% over 24 hours to $50.66 and gained 6.91% since midnight. Its weekly increase reached 30.52%, with trading volume at $204 million.
Monero climbed 5.89% to $544 and was up 3.82% since midnight, extending its seven-day gain to 16.03%.
Uniswap also continued to recover, rising 9.84% over 24 hours to $6.34 and gaining 36.94% for the week after reversing Thursday’s sharp decline.
