Altcoins Outshine Bitcoin as Market Activity Shifts Toward Smaller Tokens
Smaller cryptocurrencies are recording stronger gains than major digital assets on Monday. The CoinDesk 80 index has advanced approximately 3% over the past 24 hours, outpacing the CoinDesk 5, which has risen 1.2%.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading below $83,500 after reaching more than $84,000 on Sunday. Ether (ETH) has gained around 2.5% and is trading near $2,560.
The rally is taking place in the market segment with the weakest liquidity. According to CoinDesk research, Bitcoin and Ether order-book depth has recovered in dollar terms to levels seen before the October 10, 2025, flash crash. Altcoin liquidity has continued to deteriorate over the same period.
“Market makers have returned to majors,” Joshua de Vos, CoinDesk’s research lead, said in a report published Saturday.
Institutional flows, meanwhile, remain under pressure. Data from SoSoValue shows that U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $681 million in net outflows last week, the largest weekly total since June. Most withdrawals occurred on Wednesday and Thursday. Spot Ether ETFs have also experienced persistent selling, with no day of net inflows since September 28. Their nine-day outflow streak is the longest since June.
Oil prices have declined, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures falling about 2% to $90 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russia would supply 300,000 metric tons of diesel to global markets. The agreement represents a partial easing of sanctions. Investors are now turning their attention to Wednesday’s U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report.
Derivatives Market Signals
Futures trading has accelerated, but overall exposure has barely increased. Trading volume reached $126 billion over 24 hours, rising 81%. Open interest (OI), which measures the dollar value of outstanding contracts, increased only 2.44% to $145.8 billion. The divergence suggests traders are rotating through positions quickly rather than building substantial new exposure.
Buyers have gained a narrow lead in aggressive trading. Long positions represented 52% of 24-hour taker volume, compared with 48% last week. Taker volume tracks trades executed immediately against existing orders and helps indicate whether buyers or sellers are more aggressive.
Zcash futures are active, but the increase in new positions is small. ZEC ranked fourth in 24-hour futures volume at $5.46 billion, behind Bitcoin, Ether and SOL. The token gained 6%, while open interest rose 7%. Because OI is calculated in dollars, price appreciation can inflate the figure. After adjusting for that effect, the number of open contracts appears to have increased by only around 1%. Annualized funding stands at 10%, meaning long traders pay short traders to maintain their positions. Cumulative volume delta (CVD), a measure of aggressive buying versus selling, remains marginally positive.
NEAR’s advance shows stronger evidence of fresh positioning. NEAR rose 10%, while open interest increased 17%, translating to approximately 6% growth in the number of open contracts. Funding is positive, similar to ZEC. NEAR also has the second-highest 24-hour OI-adjusted CVD among major tokens, suggesting buyers are driving the move. Its price has reached its highest level since December.
Bitcoin and Ether leverage remain subdued. Open interest for both cryptocurrencies has changed little over the past 24 hours and remains well below the peaks recorded earlier this year. Trading volumes are close to normal levels.
Options markets indicate limited expectations for sharp price movements. Bitcoin’s implied volatility index, BVIV, is struggling to break above 40% after recovering from year-to-date lows near 34% last week. Ether’s volatility index is showing a similar pattern. Implied volatility reflects expected future price swings, and the subdued readings suggest traders are not positioning for a major near-term move.
Oil short positions on Hyperliquid appear crowded. Traders holding bearish oil positions are paying long traders annualized funding rates of 100% or higher. Funding payments help keep perpetual futures prices aligned with spot prices, and the more crowded side typically pays the other. Such high rates suggest short positions could be vulnerable to a rapid reversal if oil prices rise.
Bitcoin downside hedging dominates Deribit options activity. Put options with strike prices between $55,000 and $80,000 account for a large share of Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume. Puts gain value when prices fall and are often used to protect against losses. Ether options activity is more balanced, with both calls and puts among the five most-traded contracts.
Tokens in Focus
Starknet (STRK) has surged 76% over the past week, including a 33% gain on Friday followed by a 54% jump on Saturday. The rally comes as the network considers separating from Ethereum to become an independent, quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain. Leverage has contributed to the advance, although profit-taking pushed the token down 7.7% on Monday.
LayerZero (ZRO) has climbed 21% in 24 hours to $2.41, its highest price since May 2025. Its market capitalization has approached $1 billion. The rebound appears to stem from previously oversold conditions rather than a specific news development.
Zcash (ZEC) has advanced despite being linked to the movement of funds in the Ledger reseller supply-chain attack. The attacker reportedly routed stolen ether through Tornado Cash before converting it into ZEC using NEAR Intents. Estimated losses tied to devices sold by Malaysian reseller CryptoBilis range from $86 million to $93 million. Ledger has confirmed that at least one affected device contained an unauthorized hardware implant.
CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator has reached 66 out of 100, its highest reading in more than a year. The increase points to stronger speculative interest in altcoins as Bitcoin continues consolidating between $80,000 and $88,000.
